Crowthorne and Sandhurst

An Investigation has been launched after more than 100 fish were found dead at one of Crowthorne's top beauty spots last week.

The fish were found by a walker along a 50 metre stretch of a small unnamed stream near Greenfield Way, near where it flows into Heath Lake on Wednesday, December 28.

Heath Lake, Crowthorne is an environ-mentally sensitive area and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is home to wildlife and plantlife, including some rare species.

The dead fish - mainly small roach - were reported to the Environment Agency by the district council.

Investigating officer "JC" Hall said: "We've got a team on site trying to establish why the fish died and we're monitoring the situation to ensure it doesn't get any worse.

"We've taken a water sample from the brook which has gone to our lab for chemical analysis, but at this stage we really can't speculate on what the cause or its longer-term impacts might be."

The slightly acidic lake and stream support a rich variety of aquatic plants including the water-millfoil and the six-stamened water crowfoot, which are both very rare in Berkshire.

Wokingham District Council's environment leader Cllr Rob Stanton said: "I am extremely concerned to hear that has happened to one of our lakes; it's shocking."

Council spokeswoman Jenny Coates said the Crowthorne dead fish were reported to the council by a member of the public.

She said: "A ranger was sent out who found a lot of dead fish in the inlet to Heath Lake, by the pumping station. This was immediately reported to the Environment Agency which has responsibility for dealing with this type of problem.

"It is not obvious what caused the problem. Our rangers say that, fortunately, this kind of thing happens very infrequently."

She added that the Environment Agency was the expert in investigating the cause of such incidents and the council was waiting for its report.

ic Berkshire ~ Crowthorne