Thousands of fish killed as water polluted in rivers at Peterborough's Ferry Meadows

Thousands of fish have been killed in rivers at Ferry Meadows after water was polluted.

There is still no information about the cause of the pollution.

Visitors, including dog walkers, are being urged to stay away from waterways while investigations take place.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of fish – mainly roach, but also including perch, rudd and other species – have died, and it is now feared that birds who eat the dead fish will be impacted by the pollution.

It could take many years for the river to recover – and had only just been showing signs of returning to full health following a pollution incident a decade ago.

A spokesperson for Nene Park Trust, which run the park, said ‘thousands’ of fish had died as a result.

The spokesperson said: “Please keep dogs out of the water around the Park.“We have been informed that the streams coming from the south are bringing polluted water into the Park.

"The Environment Agency is sending a team over to assess the situation but we can see that the pollution is high by the high number of dead fish in the water.

"We will update as soon as we have more information but please keep yourselves and your dogs safe and out of the water.”

The spokesperson said lakes in the park had not been affected, but the rivers had, especially near Goldie Lane. The park was informed about the pollution by staff at the golf course this morning.

The spokesperson said it would be obvious to visitors which parts of the park were affected, as the water had a different colour. Signs are being placed around the park to make visitors aware, but the park is open as normal.

Jonathan Means, head bailiff at the Peterborough District Angling Association, said: “It looks like it has been a total fish kill, with the pollution coming from further upstream. It is a chemical spill, not a diesel spill.

"About 10 years ago, there was a pollution incident from Orton Southgate, so it may have come from that area, but investigations are ongoing.

"It is horrific, tens of thousands of fish have died. This area is normally a safe haven for fish, away from birds and other predators.

“A whole 10 year class of fish have died.

"There is a half mile stretch, where fish have died and are on both banks of the river.

"We will soon get to the point where birds are eating the dead fish, and the pollution will get into their systems.

"With the pollution that happened 10 years ago, we had only just started to see the same numbers this winter that we had back then. So it will take a long time to recover.

"We will work with the Environment Agency to possibly re-stock the river, but it has been devastating to see what has happened here this morning.

"It will also mean that angling and fishing in this area will be pretty poor next year.”