Thousands of dead fish discovered

Thousands of small fish have been found dead in Oxfordshire.

Up to 10,000 dead fish, mainly perch, were found in the Farmoor Reservoir water intake on the River Thames, the Environment Agency (EA) said.

Thames Water, which operates the reservoir, said the incident posed "no risk to the drinking water supply".

An agency spokesman said it was not yet known what had killed the fish. He said officers were at the site and water samples were being analysed.

Intake closed

Mark Ormrod, environment manager, said: "We were alerted to this incident by Thames Water after it found a number of dead fish in the intake at Farmoor Reservoir.

"Officers have been deployed quickly to the scene to investigate.

"While we are uncertain what has caused the death of these fish at this stage, we are experienced in dealing with this type of incident and are mitigating any impacts where we can.

"Water samples have been taken and we should have results in the morning."

A spokeswoman for Thames Water said: "We would like to assure customers that this incident poses no risk to the drinking water supply.

"Water taken from the river does not directly enter the water treatment works.

"As a precautionary measure the intake has been closed following advice from the Environment Agency."