INVESTIGATIONS are ongoing into a mystery, localised fish kill on a stretch of the River Leadon, near Dymock.

Dead fish were spotted along a two mile stretch, at Ryton and Ketford, around two weeks ago.

Environment Agency officers arrived on the scene to investigate.

This followed a call by a concerned member of the public.

Water samples were taken and these are currently being analysed.

One concerned local farmer, Malcolm Stallard, said he had seen around fifty dead fish on the surface, including a small salmon.

A stretch of around half a mile appears to have been particularly affected.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said “ The Environment Agency received a report by a member of the public that a number of dead fish had been spotted in a stretch of the River Leadon near Ketford in Gloucestershire. "Officers attended the site where a number of dead fish were found, we believe they were killed by a short-lived pollution which entered the watercourse following the heavy rainfall at the tail-end of previous week; but as part of the investigation into the cause, samples of the river have been taken and we are currently awaiting the results.”

The presence of a salmon in the small river should come as no surprise.

In 2009, thousands of salmon were released into the River Leadon near Ledbury, to replace fish that had been killed by pollutants.

A total of 23,500 baby salmon were placed at various places along the river after being raised at the Environment Agency’s Clywedog Dam hatchery.

In 2010, the Environment Agency revealed plans to help salmon migrate upstream.

Two small weirs were installed near Ledbury, to help salmon get over an existing weir, which was a barrier to migration.