Salmon return to Midlands river

Staff are restocking the river with young salmon

Salmon are returning to a Worcestershire river after poor water quality and pollution caused the population to die out.

Environment Agency staff are restocking the River Stour near Kidderminster with young salmon or fry.

A spokesman said over the years there had been massive investment to improve the river's water quality.

"This is the first restocking of its type on the Stour and we look forward to the population thriving," he said.

Boost numbers

A decline in industry and improvements to waste discharge has seen a big improvement to the water.

Small numbers of salmon have been found further along the river, where it meets the Severn, and the agency hopes these numbers will be boosted.

"We are not planning to return the fish to the river to create an angling opportunity," the spokesman said.

Some of the fish have been tagged so their survival can be assessed.