Although restrictions placed on the River Kennet have been lifted since last week, when a pesticide spill between Marlborough and Hungerford killed off some invertebrate life, the Environment Agency has said it is still investigating the issue.

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Environment Agency officers have been investigating how the river came to be polluted. Commonly used pesticide chlorpyrifos is believed to be behind the incident, which led the EA to advise people in the region not to bathe or fish in the river, or let their dogs near its waters.

Although these restrictions have now been removed, Paul Hudson from the Environment Agency said the agency is still seeking information on the source of pollution.  

Mr Hudson said on Tuesday, "It is obviously great news that the pesticide has dissipated naturally and that the precautionary restrictions put in place have been removed following advice from Public Health England and the Food Standards Agency.

"We are still trying to trace the source of the pesticide, and we would appeal for anyone who has information to come forward so that we can take steps to educate those responsible and others to try to prevent it from happening again. We are also meeting with business owners along the Kennet regularly to keep them informed of the latest information,” he added.

Although large insects and other invertebrates were killed as a result of the incident, Mr Hudson said there have been no reports of any fish killed. He said that people with information about the spill in the River Kennett, or any other pollution or environment incident, should contact the Environment Agency by calling our hotline number 0800 80 70 60.