Thousands of fish died in town pool

THOUSANDS of fish perished after they were left gasping for air in a Nuneaton pool despite valiant attempts from volunteers to rescue them.

Members of The Guardians of Stubbs Pool and residents spent hours on Monday desperately trying to save fish from the pool.

Large carp, some reportedly as big as 25lb, were rescued from the beauty spot.

But sadly thousands of them could not be saved and volunteers faced the heartbreaking task of having to fish them out and put them into bin bags.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council were due to start pumping oxygen into the pool to try and ensure some of the remaining fish survive.

Sioux Watkins of the group and others worked until 9pm on Monday night to try and save the fish.

“I have to say that it was one of the most horrible experiences ever to see, we removed thousands of fish,” she said. “It was heartbreaking. “Thank you to everyone who helped all through the day, and your kind words of support. Despite this situation it was great to see this community come together to save something that is so precious to us all.”

The borough council said that Stubbs Pool is one of the many pools across the UK hit by an oxygen crash, due to the high temperatures.

The parks team is due to fit pumps into the pool to help re-oxygenate the water.

Cllr Ian Lloyd, cabinet member for arts and leisure at the Town Hall, said: “It is always distressing to see animals suffer and we are taking action as quickly as we possibly can.

“Our parks team is dealing with the situation urgently and doing everything possible to help the surviving fish. My fellow Camp Hill ward councillor, Cllr Lydia Hocking, was on site assisting residents and our staff at the pool. The hot weather has created a problem for fish across the country, especially those in shallow urban pools. We would urge anyone with fish ponds at home to monitor conditions.”