A STRETCH of water which was severely polluted after an untreated sewage leak is “slowly recovering”, according to environmental officers.

More than 1,000 fish, including chub, perch and trout, died in Silchester Brook after a leak at the sewage works near Silchester on Wednesday, July 21.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “The most recent monitoring results have shown that the water quality in the brook is slowly recovering.

“The Environment Agency will continue to monitor the recovery of the stream over the coming months and will have a better understanding of the overall impact and expected recovery time.”

Within 24 hours of the leak, Thames Water, which runs the sewage works, accepted “full responsibility” for the incident.

The water company has offered to restock the stream with fish in co-operation with Environment Agency fisheries officers, which can be carried out when the brook has recovered.

The leak sparked an urgent investigation by agency officers, who used a pump and later hydrogen peroxide to aerate the stream in a bid to save the remaining fish.

The untreated pollution, which essentially takes oxygen out of the water, went downstream into Foudry Brook, a tributary of the River Kennet, and continued as far as Green Park, near Reading.

Officers are still investigating the cause and impact and the investigation could lead to further action, including a prosecution of the water company.

The alarm was raised on July 21 after members of the public spotted dead fish floating in Silchester Brook.

The stream runs eastwards, between the villages of Silchester and Little London, and into Foudry Brook.