Cyanide warning in river

Thousands of fish have died after untreated sewage and cyanide spilled into the River Trent in Staffordshire.

The Environment Agency has issued a warning for people and animals to keep out of the river on a 30-mile stretch between Stoke on Trent and Yoxall, including Stone, Weston, Great Haywood and Rugeley, as a precaution, following the pollution incident that has rendered the river water a potential health risk.

The warning to stay out of the river applies to everyone, including farmers, anglers, dog walkers, boaters and anyone using the river for work or pleasure.

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The Food Standards Agency has also advised that people should stop extracting water temporarily. It should not be taken out of the river for any reason.

It is also important to keep all animals away from the water including, for example, farm animals and dogs.

The Environment Agency, which is investigating the cause of the pollution, is tracking the pollution as it moves downstream.

It is likely to travel downstream of Yoxall today, reaching Burton upon Trentthis afternoon

It is expected that the pollution will have been diluted so the risk may be reduced. Officers are continuing to monitor the situation.

Alan Walters, from the Environment Agency, said the incident had had "a huge impact."

He said they were attempting to use hydrogen peroxide to offset the worst effects of the spillage.

Andrew Marsh, from Severn Trent Water, said a leak of cyanide, which had not been caused by the company, had knocked out a water treatment plant and this had led to a discharge of sewage.

The RSPCA has sent a team to the area to assess the situation.

"We expect there will be quite a big clean-up operation involved. For those people with livestock we would remind them to get them away from the area as safely as possible," a spokeswoman said.nextpage