ENVIRONMENT chiefs have given a river devastated by pollution the all-clear.

Tens of thousands of fish are believed to have been killed in the pollution spill, which infected a five-mile stretch of the river Tame last week.

Latest samples taken by the Environment Agency show the River Tame, between Middlesbrough and Stokesley, in North Yorkshire, is now clear of pollution.

An invisible and odourless pollutant killed most of the aquatic life in a six-mile stretch of the River Tame and its tributary, Main Stell, between Stokesley and Middlesbrough.

Thousands of stone loach, minnows and bullheads perished, along with trout, lamprey and eels after the deadly substance infected the waterway.

The huge number of deaths prompted warnings for parents to keep their children indoors and to animal lovers not to let cats or dogs near the waters.

The Environment Agency said the pollution may have been diluted as it travelled down the river and washed away as the River Tame joins the River Leven.

James Parker, environment management team leader from the Environment Agency, said: "We issued a precautionary warning when we were first alerted to the dead fish in the river as we didn't know what we were dealing with.

"We are now confident that the pollution has dispersed and it is safe for people to use the area around the river and its tributaries as they would normally do."

The investigation into how the detergent got into the river is ongoing and is expected to continue for some time.

The Tame pollution spill was the worst of three similar incidents in recent weeks. A fortnight earlier, thousands more had been killed in the River Skerne, between Darlington and Newton Aycliffe.

And only days after, a third pollution incident hit a one-and-three-quarter mile stretch of the beck at Leeming, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

Pike, chub, dace, trout and grayling were among the species that were killed although invertebrates in the beck have survived