River patrol takes to two wheels

The pair are checking rod licences

Environment Agency officers in Cornwall are taking to their bikes to spot salmon poachers and fishing licence dodgers.

Environment officers Phil Christie and Claudine Fontier are patrolling the banks of the River Camel.

The pair are checking rod licences as well as looking for signs of illegal fishing or pollution.

The Camel is an important salmon river which has been targeted by poachers in the past.

'Valuable exercise'

"Cycling along the Camel Trail may seem like a pleasant way to spend a summer evening, but is actually a very effective method of covering a long length of river quickly and getting to remote locations that would otherwise be difficult to access," said Paul Mitchell from the Environment Agency.

"It is also environmentally-friendly and helps keep our carbon footprint down by reducing the number of miles driven while providing our officers with some valuable physical exercise."

The riverside patrols have already taken a number of anglers by surprise and fishermen are being reminded they should always take their rod licence with them so they can be produced if asked to do so by an agency bailiff.