29/8/2001

Hundreds of fish have been killed after a pollution incident occurred at Llanvapley near Abergavenny, in a tributary of the Pant Brook in the Trothy catchment.

Environment Agency Wales officers are continuing to investigate the incident today after first receiving a call from a member of the public last Saturday afternoon (25 August).

An unknown substance, probably organic, entered the stream and a significant number of dead fish – the majority bullheads – were spotted in the water. The Agency has collected some of the dead carcasses and water samples for analysis.

The source of the pollution and what caused it have still to be confirmed. The Agency will submit a report to its legal department to consider what further action may be taken.

Paul Hilder, an Agency Environment Protection Team Leader based at Monmouth, said: “We are making progress with our investigations but there is still work to be done. It is clear that the incident occurred at least a couple of days before we received the report which is making our work more difficult. Obviously, the incident has resulted in a significant number of fish being killed and we are trying to do all we can to find out what caused it. We have also had to be very careful to take all necessary precautions because of the Foot and Mouth restrictions in the area.”

Anyone who sees pollution, illegal tipping of waste, poaching, fish in distress or danger to the natural environment can contact the Agency’s emergency hotline on 0800 80 70 60. The hotline operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and calls are free.

Source:	Environment Agency Wales
	Web Link