Investigation into foam-covered river continues

An investigation into how white foam appeared on a river is still ongoing a year later.

On 18 October last year, the substance - compared to snow or washing up liquid - was seen on the River Thet in Thetford, Norfolk.

It led to the death of an estimated 1,000 juvenile fish and fry.

At the time, the Environment Agency said it had detected the source and any further discharge was stopped. In an update, a spokesperson said "good progress" had been made, but the results of the inquiry were still being decided.

"Specialist officers will make decisions on next steps as soon as possible," they said.

"Legal action is never off the table following pollution."

At the time the pollutant was discovered, the Environment Agency took samples and expected the foam to reduce naturally and that it would be diluted by rainfall.

Officers attended a similar incident involving foam on the same river in December 2024, however on that occasion it was unable to identify the source.

Anglian Water told the BBC last year's incident was caused "by a third-party" and was not from any of "our equipment or assets in the area".

The river is a globally-rare chalk stream. Almost a third of the world's chalk streams are found in the East of England.

As part of restoration efforts, 3,000 fish were released into the river in December.

The Environment Agency said this included a mix of one-year-old roach, dace and chub that were "bred, hatched and reared" at a fish farm in the East Midlands.

The river is due to be restocked with 15,000 fish in total as part of restoration efforts.

"Adding the new fish was a key step in helping the Thet return to full ecological strength," a spokesperson said.

"Specialist teams have carried out extensive water-quality testing to monitor the river's recovery."

As investigations continue, Thetford Town Council said it was supporting the Environment Agency where needed.

A spokesperson for the council said it was looking forward to supporting more fish being released into the river in the new year.

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