LIFE will become much easier for fish battling their way up one of the region's most important rivers thanks to a £76,000 scheme.

The Environment Agency has joined forces with British Waterways to improve the fish passage over Boroughbridge Weir, on the River Ure, in North Yorkshire.

The fish-pass was built in the 1800s for migratory salmon and sea trout heading upstream to their spawning grounds.

However, the agency's fishery scientists carried out research that showed the pass was not adequate for the two species, as well as barbel, dace and chub, which also migrate to spawning, feed and over-wintering areas.

Lamprey, which are extremely rare but live in the River Ure, make the same journey upstream.

Agency fisheries scientists, national fish pass experts and engineers from British Waterways made structural changes to the pass to improve water flow.

Environment Agency fisheries officer David Morley said: "This will not only benefit the increasing salmon and sea trout populations in the Ure, but also the coarse fish and lamprey populations throughout the whole of the Ure. It will also have the knock-on effect of improving populations throughout the whole of the Yorkshire Ouse system.

"We are fully aware that this was just one of many obstructions to fish passage in the system, and we shall continue working with our partners, especially British Waterways, to try and make improvements to as many as possible over coming years."