Tunnel allows fish to swim freely

The river is now free from blockages allowing fish to pass

A special tunnel has been built in Swindon to allow fish to navigate along the full length of the River Ray.

Previously fish could not swim over the 18 inch drop at the weir pool near the Great Western Way at Rivermead.

The tunnel, made from baskets filled with boulders and stones, has reduced the drop to four inches allowing the fish to swim through.

It forms the final stage of the river's restoration project run by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

"We have opened up the whole habitat above the weir so that the Ray's nine species of fish will be free to roam a river without blockages," said the Trust's Swindon Wildlife Project Officer Neil Pullen.

"We often saw them congregating in the aerated water of the pool.

"By opening the river up to them, we are also providing wider hunting grounds for birds such as herons and kingfishers that feed on the fish."