It is important to report incidents to the Environment Agency (EA) as soon as possible, especially in times of drought or low flows.
Reporting incidents to the EA is an individual responsibility. It is important to make individual calls rather than a call on behalf of the club or a group. It's not clear how the system works, but calls are ‘logged’ and numerous calls about the same incident will “bump” the call up in priority, therefore making it more likely to receive a response.
The following points are extracted from the EA website. If you come across an incident that includes any of the following:
Damage or danger to the natural environment
Pollution to water or land
Poaching or illegal fishing
Dead fish or fish gasping for air
Main rivers blocked by a vehicle or fallen tree causing risk of flooding
Flooding from any river, stream, canal, natural spring or the sea
Illegal removals from watercourses
Unusual changes in river flow
Collapsed or badly damaged river or canal banks
You should call the EA Incident Hotline on: 0800 807060 - without delay. Time may be of the essence.
Your report will be made in complete confidence. If you make a call to this number it is recorded and the EA are duty bound to act on it. Do not hesitate or prevaricate.
As a TFC member, it would be helpful for you to save this number into your mobile phone and pass it on to others.
