Thousands of fish released into River Thet near Thetford

Thousands of freshwater fish have been released into the River Thet near Thetford .

The Environment Agency released 10,000 young dace reared at the organisation's Calverton fish farm.

They were part of a large batch which spawned successfully thanks to a heatwave and the sheer number of fish hatched meant space was at a premium.

As a result, the dace were released into the river six months earlier than usual at 18 months old.

Kye Jerrom, Environment Agency fisheries specialist in East Anglia, said: "Restocking our rivers helps boost fish populations, support a healthy ecology, and benefits anglers – and it’s a key feature of the work we do to benefit people and the environment.

"This work is part of a whole programme of fish-restocking, which will see thousands of dace, roach and chub put back into the river to compensate for the fish lost to a pollution in 2018."

Further restocking of dace, roach and chub is planned for the winter.

The restocking is part of a recovery plan following a pollution incident in Brackley, Northamptonshire, in 2018, during which thousands of fish died.

Since the incident, the Environment Agency has released more than 30,000 fish back into the river.

Read more: All the latest news from Thetford

Read more: All the latest news from Suffolk