Fish rescued from diminishing lake in Sheffield

The fish are to be moved to Selby in North Yorkshire

Thousands of fish are being rescued from a Sheffield lake as efforts are made to stop it completely silting up.

The Environment Agency (EA) said Charlton Brook Dam had been gradually silting up for some time, leading to half of the lake being lost.

The fish, mostly roach, are being moved before excavators drain the lake and start removing the silt on Wednesday.

They are being moved to Haddlesey Pond, near Selby, North Yorkshire, where fish were killed during floods in 2007.

Restocking plans

The £110,000 refurbishment of the lake is being paid for by the EA and local community groups.

Once it is excavated and drained new fishing platforms and disabled access will be created.

There will also be a dipping pond, where children can use hand nets and learn about aquatic wildlife.

The lake will be restocked with roach, tench, bream and carp in early 2011.

Pete Turner, EA fisheries officer, said: "We'll be rescuing as many fish as we can while the pumps are running and the level is dropping.

"Once the silt has been removed it will probably take around a year for things to settle down and for the aquatic life to re-establish itself."