Hundreds of fish dead after firewater runoff enters River Tame

Hundreds of fish have been found dead in the River Tame after water and firefighting foam from a blaze at an industrial unit in Greenfield entered the river.

The Environment Agency said several hundred fish were found dead in the affected area following the fire off Wellington Road on Sunday, August 16th.

The blaze broke out shortly after 7.30am and prompted road closures in the area as firefighters tackled the incident.

The Environment Agency said some of the water used to fight the fire entered the River Tame despite containment measures being put in place.

A spokesperson said: "Although containment measures were taken, some firewater run-off entered the river. Officers recorded several hundred dead fish in the affected area, however this morning (Monday) they found no additional fish fatalities."

Greenfield resident Craig Hannah, 57, who lives near the site and witnessed the fire, told BBC News:

"It was quite frightening. I live around 70 metres away from it. Luckily we were downwind.

"It was just the road closures, the proximity to other people's houses that was quite worrying.

"You couldn't help but notice the amount of foam on the surface of the river. It was probably about four metres high in the worst affected areas. It had got caught up in the trees."

The incident has been particularly upsetting for Craig because of the improvements he has witnessed in the River Tame over recent decades.

He said, "It makes me feel sad".

"When I first started working a few miles downstream from Greenfield in 1988, you were very unlikely to see fish in the river. But fish live in the river all the way down to Stockport now. The wildlife's come back and it's quite a dynamic ecosystem.

"I just really hope that this incident hasn't had a major impact on what is now in the river."

Some surface foam may still be visible on the river, though it should now be dispersing downstream.