'˜Oily sheen' on River Bain sparks investigation

According to residents, there was an ‘oil-like’ substance which appeared on the surface of the water near the Tesco bridge.

An EA spokesman said: “We are investigating reports of an oily sheen on the River Bain in Horncastle and closely monitoring the river.”

Contrary to earlier reports, the EA said it has not received any official reports of dead fish on the River Bain, in Horncastle.

A spokesman added: “While we have not had reports of impacts on fish in this area, we would ask people to call our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 if they do spot dead fish or fish in distress.”

However several residents contacted the News, saying that they had seen ‘dead fish’.

Rosemary Banks said: “I saw the dead fish on Saturday. A lot of people were saying it was because the oxygen levels had dropped (in the river) after the recent hot weather.

“I don’t believe that. It rained on Friday and Saturday and that must have improved the levels. Surely, fish would have died a couple of weeks ago - not at the weekend.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said he had seen what appeared to be oil floating in the Bain near the Tesco Bridge on Saturday.

He added: “It was black and it looked like oil. A lot of people had seen it or smelled it.”

“There’s loads of ducks and other wildlife there. Kids were playing in the river last week. Something needs to be done.”