HUNDREDS of fish have been killed by a pollution incident in a river near St Austell.

The pollution occurred in the St Austell River, which is also known as the White River, in the Pentewan Valley.

The Environment Agency was alerted to the incident on Thursday, June 19, when it received calls about dead fish in the river.

A spokesperson said: “We identified a pollution incident and confirmed it had stopped. Hundreds of fish were killed in the river from St Austell to the coast at Pentewan including trout, eels and brook lamprey.”

Environment Agency officers returned to valley on Friday morning as their investigation into the incident continued. Evidence gathered could be used for any regulatory action that is required.