BLACKBURN fisherman face grim sport around the town for years to come after more than 100,000 fish died in two separate spillages in local waterways.

British Waterways and the Environment Agency spent the weekend battling to contain pollution in the Leeds and Liverpool canal in the Grimshaw Park area of Blackburn, which has become contaminated with a sugar solution.

The canal contains mainly roach and thousands of the fish were seen gasping for air as the liquid - believed to be from a nearby sweet factory - contaminated wide areas of the canal.

And on stretches of the River Darwen as many as 3,000 fish - including chub, roach, gudgeon and eels - died when the river was affected by a detergent pollution at Roach Bridge.

Now local fisherman and tackle dealer Geoff Done believes the area's coarse anglers are in for a tough time.

He said: "Something similar happened five years ago and eveything died.

"All our winter matches and leagues will have to be cancelled and fishermen will go elsewhere.

"If the canal is re-stocked, it will take a good few years until the canal is back to the way it was."

Steve Griffiths, from British Waterways, said: "Sugar is the worst pollutant as it allows bacteria to multiply rapidly, which consumes all the oxygen in the water.

"The oxygen level has fallen from 70 to 80 per cent oxygen down to less than one per cent."

Speaking about the River Darwen incident, an Environment Agency spokesman said: "Up to 3,000 fish died as a result and we now have to find out where the spillage came from and what effects it will have on the ecology of the area."

Investigations are under way into both spillages, with the company responsible for the sugar spill facing a hefty fine.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.