Anger over dead fish left floating in pool

Hundred of dead fish are floating on the top of pool in the Black Country, after freezing temperatures froze the water.

Anglers and park users are complaining of a "dreadful stench" at Willenhall Memorial Park there and are demanding action.

Thousands of pounds worth of fish are thought to have perished in last month's sub-zero conditions.

Temperatures as low as -12C (10F) caused a thick layer of ice to form on the already shallow waters, with council workers using an oxygen pump and mini-diggers to help the fish breathe.

But the recent snow and ice made conditions too treacherous and park workers had no choice but to let nature take its course. Now, the big thaw has brought new problems as hundreds of dead fish, including carp and roach, have now risen to the top of the pool creating a bad smell.

Office worker and keen angler Russell Powers said he was walking his dogs near the pool when he was hit by the strong stench.

"It's absolutely appalling down there and it looks like a scene of mass murder," said the 29-year-old.

"Now the snow is melting you can see there's not many fish left there at all, if any. "There are what looks like thousands of fish on top of the water. It must be thousands of pounds worth of fish and some of them are really big ones."

Mr Powers, of Ambrose Close, said: "I can't even describe the smell down there and I can't believe there is nobody that could have prevented this or is taking steps to make it better now.

"There is a little brook that runs into the pool and some of the fish have headed into there now but it's only a small piece of water, about a metre wide."

Walsall Council's Nigel Ilsley, parks manager, said: "We're aware that the dead fish at the pool in Willenhall Memorial Park is causing a bit of a stench and we have plans to remove them all over the next couple of days."