Residents are outraged after hundreds of fish have been found floating dead in a Yorkshire beck.

Earlier this year Elvington's local councillor raised concerns about the risk pollution in the watercourse could pose to wildlife.

Now hundreds of fish have been pictured floating dead along the stream which runs past Elvington Primary School.

Residents say that the problem has been going on for months and that there is oil entering the beck.

There is an ongoing Environment Agency investigation.

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Andrea Tranter has lived in the village for 11 years and she says she has 'never seen anything like this'.

The Northern Echo: Local councillor, Christian Vassie, has described the incident as a 'pollution scandal'

She said: "I am concerned for all the wildlife as it is probably not just the fish being affected but things further up the food chain in the circle of life as well.

"I have been here 11 years and never seen anything like it before and we can't afford to lose so much in one go and clearly they suffered in the process.

"It's quite sickening really."

Christian Vassie, councillor for the area, described it as a 'pollution scandal in slow motion'.

He said: "I'm incredibly frustrated that this is yet another example of the problems we have got with pollution in rivers across the country.

The Northern Echo: Fish have been pictured floating dead in the water

"It is a pollution scandal in slow motion.

"The Environment Agency have had 8 months to fix this.

"It's just harrowing that we are not getting anywhere fast enough.

"This beck goes past a primary school and heads into a nature reserve.

The Northern Echo: Locals have found the sight 'sickening'

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"The smell, health risks and now fish dying. All these problems are just going on and on."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said:

“A number of reports have been received about dead fish in Elvington Beck, York. Officers are investigating the Beck for potential sources of pollution.

“We’d like to thank the concerned members of the public for raising this with us. It’s important people who spot fish in distress report it to our 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 so that our officers can investigate.”