THOUSANDS of fish have been killed by last week's major slurry spill in the River Foss.
Pig slurry entered Farlington Beck on Wednesday afternoon after what City of York Council described as some "overzealous muckspreading" by a local farmer. The pollution then got into the River Foss, killing thousands of fish including trout, chub and perch, as it made its way towards York.
An Environment Agency spokesman said today that the pollution was now in the Foss basin. The slurry was expected to enter the River Ouse in the next 24 hours when it will become so diluted it will be harmless.
He said: "Quite a lot of fish have been killed. We have seen the worst but we are still on alert."
Most of the fish deaths have occurred in the upper stretch of the Foss between Farlington and Strensall. The spokesman said few sightings of dead fish between Haxby and York had been reported.
He said the warm weather and sunshine over the weekend had helped add oxygen to the water and disperse the slurry.
Updated: 11:36 Monday, August 04, 2003
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