Dead fish found in polluted water at Lowca Beck and Parton Bay

The dead fish were discovered in Lowca Beck earlier this year after the water became polluted with an unknown substance.

Investigations have been carried out by the Environment Agency but the source of the pollution has not yet been identified.

Derek Calvin, 70, of Whitehaven, alerted the Environment Agency after coming across dozens of dead and dying fish in the beck on May 18.

He said: “I lived in Lowca most of my life. Me and my wife often go for walks with our dogs. It’s been a popular walk for me, all my life.

Derek Calvin had gone to see the kingfishers at Lowca Beck but discovered scores of dead fish in the water (Image: Submitted)

“One Saturday afternoon, me and my wife went down to our favourite place to watch the kingfishers. The stream was full of dead fish. The water looked clear but had a funny smell to it. It was killing the wildlife.

“I rang the Environment Agency and said, ‘you will need to send someone out – all the fish are dying in the stream now’.

“Nothing happened. I put a post on Facebook with the photos I had taken, saying this is what is happening in Lowca Beck now.

The Environment Agency has been unable to find the cause of the pollution (Image: Submitted)

“Ten minutes later, I got a phone call from an environment officer who had seen the post on Facebook.”

An environment officer then met with Mr Calvin, who took him to the site and showed him the dead fish. They drove a couple of miles to Parton Bay, where the water flows into the Solway Firth, and saw there were also dead fish there.

Mr Calvin added: “Everything in that stretch of water was dead. I have been back a few times. I haven’t seen any of the wildlife since. It’s a serious incident.”

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Our investigation has traced the pollution upstream as far as possible, however, despite collecting samples, and further investigations following the incident, we have been unable to identify a specific source of pollution.

“We would like to encourage members of the public to report environmental incidents to us via our 24/7 incident hotline 0800 807060 so that we can take appropriate action.”

Jill Perry, a Cumberland councillor and member of The Green Party, said: "Sadly pollution incidents are far too common. Clean water is a must for life - ours and the wildlife that live in it.

"I know Lowca Beck. I was contacted by a local resident recently who was talking about the dippers and grey wagtails as well as the kingfishers. The whole food chain will suffer now the fish are gone.

"Regular monitoring would identify problems with water quality as they arose and could be dealt with and the culprits offered advice to stop it happening again or, if necessary, prosecuted for repeat offences.

"Staff and funding cuts for the Environment Agency mean they are completely overstretched and incidents are not noticed until the effects are catastrophic.

"Funding needs to be restored by this Government - just another thing to be fixed after years of cutbacks."