A TONNE of dead fish has been pulled from a polluted stretch of the canal in Burnley.

British Waterways is currently carrying out a clean up operation after the Leeds and Liverpool Canal became polluted.

Hundreds of fish perished in the incident with the worst affected area being between Barden Lane and Thompson Park.

A spokes- man for British Waterways, which manages the canal, has warned that other areas of the canal may become dirtier.

Workers were devoting all their time to cleaning up the site, which is particularly popular with anglers.

They said: "Our litter boat, which normally travels between Blackburn and Barrowford locks cleaning up the canal, has been working entirely on this pollution incident for the past week. So far, it has pulled out a tonne of dead fish.

"That gives some indication of the scale and severity of what has happened.

"It also means there may be a build-up of rubbish elsewhere on the canal while our three-man team is working on this.

The Environment Agency is working with British Waterways to determine the cause of the pollution.

A spokesman said they hoped to bring a prosecution when their investigations were complete. "We have located the source of the pollution and it has been stopped.

"Samples of the water have been taken away for analysis and we are awaiting confirmation of what the substance is."

Brian Jackson, area co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth said people had to make sure waterways were properly maintained.

"This is a tragic loss of fish caused, presumably, by carelessness. "Accidents happen, but it is impor-tant that firms by waterways take extra steps to make sure these things do not happen. Wherever possible, people should take advice from the Environment Agency, and even Friends of the Earth."

Anyone who sees incidents of dumping rubbish should contact British Waterways.