UP to 1,000 fish have been killed after fly-tippers dumped hazardous waste on farmland, which then leaked into a nearby beck.

The Environment Agency believes the young trout in Skelton Beck, near Saltburn, East Cleveland, were killed by waste oils, paints and solvents, which may have come from a garage or paint spray shop.

Agency officers found that nearly all aquatic life along a three-mile stretch had been destroyed. They traced the source of the pollution to hazardous waste dumped in a nearby field.

The waste had run down a slope into a tributary of the beck, where officers dug a trench to prevent any more contaminants entering the water.

Tests are under way to identify the substances and where they might have come from, after which the waste can be safely disposed of.

Kate Halka, project manager for the Environment Agency’s “Swat” fly-tipping campaign, said: “This is a worst-case example of the damage that fly-tipping can cause.

“Someone has done this to save money, but their actions have had a devastating effect on the local ecosystem which will take time to recover.

“The pollution has wiped out all this year’s young trout, and almost all invertebrates.

It could take several years for life in the beck to get back to normal.”

Skelton Beck is about six miles long and passes close to Saltburn Valley Woodland Centre and Saltburn Miniature Railway before flowing into the sea at Saltburn.

Redcar and Cleveland Borugh Council has been notified of the pollution and, as a precaution, has put up warning signs at the beach, advising the public to stay out of the beck.

Anyone who has information about where the hazardous waste came from is asked to call the Environment Agency’s free incident hotline on 0800-80-70-60.