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Hundreds of fish killed in Cornish 'pollution incident' Thousands of fish killed in Cornwall river pollution
(about 3 hours later)
The Environment Agency said hundreds of dead fish were found in the St Austell River Dead fish counted by the Environment Agency include trout, eels and brook lamprey
An investigation has been launched after hundreds of dead fish were found in a Cornish river. Thousands of fish are thought to have been killed by pollution in a Cornish river, according to officials.
The Environment Agency (EA) said it received reports at 17:45 BST on Thursday of the incident in St Austell River, known locally as the White River. The Environment Agency said it received reports at 17:45 BST on Thursday of the incident in St Austell River, known locally as the White River.
EA officials said hundreds of fish including trout, eels and brook lamprey had been killed in a "pollution incident" in the river stretching from St Austell down to the coast at Pentewan. It added the incident had been stopped on Thursday night. Steve Marks, the agency's area district manager, said 173 dead fish including trout, eels and brook lamprey had been counted in the river stretching from St Austell down to the coast at Pentewan, but "we sadly think there have been thousands of fish killed".
A no swim warning had been issued by the EA at nearby Pentewan designated bathing water area, but the warning has since been lifted. He said a "robust" investigation was taking place and action would be taken against the polluter which had been identified.
Hundreds of fish including trout, eels and brook lamprey have been killed The Environment Agency said it would be holding the polluter to account
An EA spokesperson said: "Our officers returned to site first thing this morning and will be completing a thorough investigation. Mr Marks told BBC Radio Cornwall water samples confirmed pollutants had "sufficiently diluted and washed away".
"This will be used as evidence for any regulatory action that is required." While the source of the pollution had been identified and stopped, he declined to specify whether it was industrial or agricultural, citing legal sensitivities.
The designated bathing area is at Pentewan beach, which is privately owned by the Pentewan Sands Holiday Park. "I don't want to prejudice that follow-up regulation activity, but I can reassure people that it has been stopped," he said.
EA said the beach was about 1.1km (0.7 miles) wide and its water quality has been rated as excellent every year from 2021 to 2024. "We will be undertaking a very robust investigation.
James Mustoe, Cornwall councillor for Mevagissey and St Austell Bay, said the situation was quite upsetting and worrying for the local community. "We will hold polluters to account where they impact the environment."
He said: "We've spent a lot of time working to improve the environment in the Pentewan Valley and into Pentewan. South West Water said: "We are aware of the reports and we are supporting the Environment Agency with its investigation."
"I don't want to speculate on what the causes are, but something has happened clearly and it's really disrupted that ecosystem." Dead fish litter the river after the pollution incident
The environmental impact had gone beyond visible damage, he said.
"There's likely to be impacts to the small invertebrates and things we can't see," he said.
The Environment Agency had classified the incident as "high category".
"It is rare to have this number of fish killed, that's why the job of the Environment Agency is so important," he said.
"We've got six people on site right now working their socks off to make sure we realluy understand what has happened here and to prevent it happening again."
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