Fish had to be rescued from a river near Knighton after water levels dropped during the recent period of sunshine.

More than 60 brown trout and one salmon were rescued from the Teme at Lower Stanage, near Knighton, and the Redlake elsewhere in Shropshire at Bucknell by fisheries specialists from the Environment Agency.

It is an area prone to drying up when there has been little rain, and the region has seen exceptionally low rainfall in May. Fish have been moved downstream and once the water comes back they will steadily flow back up and repopulate again.

Dave Carrington, fisheries officer with the Environment Agency, said: “In recent years we’ve had to regularly rescue fish on these rivers as they’ve been left stranded when the river dries up after a dry spell. We will continue to monitor these rivers as sections of them are likely to continue to dry up and will carry out further fish rescues if needed.”

Chris Bainger, fisheries technical specialist with the Environment Agency, also said the low numbers of juvenile salmon may have been a consequence of the floods in February.

“The lack of juveniles is a real concern, as salmon stocks are already at a critically low level in the Severn catchment," he said.

"If the juveniles are not present this indicates either a failure of adult spawning or the obliteration of the redds (nests) last winter, that will impact on the numbers of returning adults in four and five years’ time.”

The work was all carried out adhering to current guidelines on social distancing.

In the Severn Basin, in February, rainfall was nearly three times the average, while in May it was only 11 per cent of the average for the month.

Demand for clean water has been outstripping supply, but Wednesday's rain is forecast to continue during the next week.

Warm weather can often lead to algal blooms or water that is too warm which makes it difficult for fish to breathe. They are often seen gasping for air. If anyone sees fish in distress, call 0800 80 70 60.