Getting River Avon pollution investigated like ‘pulling teeth’

Dominic Linnell, who walks his dog along the river every day, said he first noticed the issue more than two years ago.

“Two or three times a week, there’s an awful chemical smell, and I see a huge oil slick that seems to bubble up from the bottom of the river,” he said.

“I’ve seen fish floating dead and ducks. There’s a lot of wildlife along there, you get herons, so it’s a real shame.

“We all really care about the river, it’s definitely killing wildlife and it’s very unpleasant,” he said.

Another local resident, Tristan Dhalla, said he had noticed the pollution ever since he moved to the area five years ago, and neighbours had even claimed the problem went back as far as a decade.

Wessex Water said their investigation had found “no issues” with any of their assets, while the substance did not pass through their sewerage network.

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said it was supporting the EA’s investigation by providing information and records, while officers had visited the site last week.