'It was horrible': Suffocated fish wash up near village

SCORES of fish have washed up dead in water near a village, after oxygen levels depleted.

- By JOSEPH CONNOLLY

The Lily Ponds, near Radcliffe-on-Trent, are home to large numbers of tench, bream, carp and small pike.

But after the heatwave of the previous week, the fish were starved of air in the water.

It is understood the oxygen levels plunged after blooms of blue-green algae - cyanobacteria - appeared in the water.

“It was horrible,” said Councillor Anne McLeod, from Radcliffe-on-Trent Parish Council.

“Apparently it's happening all over the place because of the hot weather, so there's less oxygen dissolved in the water, and they're suffocating. It's as simple as that.”

The fish appear to have died between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, according to local reports.

Cllr McLeod visited after being alerted on Sunday morning.

“The water looked like pea soup, so there must be some algae present,” she said.