SALMON, sea trout and eels are set to return to a North-east river for the first time in hundreds of years.

Work has started on the River Derwent which will allow fish to reach spawning grounds in the upper reaches of the river, which runs from North Durham down to the River Tyne at Gateshead, for the first time since the 18th Century.

The Environment Agency and Gateshead Council have agreed funding for the new fish pass at Derwenthaugh Weir, also known as Lady’s Steps, about one mile away from where the Derwent flows into the Tyne near the MetroCentre.

The work, which will start in January, will also benefit species like brown trout, grayling and dace that become stranded below the weir after floods.

Project manager Jon Shelley, from the Environment Agency, said: "By building a fish pass we’ll be allowing salmon and sea trout to move freely into the River Derwent for the first time since the 18th century.

"We try to help fish along rivers wherever we can, and are always looking for ways we can increase the opportunity for affordable salmon and sea trout angling".

The area around the weir was previously a coke works, which was reclaimed in the 1990s.

Coun John McElroy, Gateshead Council cabinet member for transport and environment, said:"The River Derwent was once at the heart of an industrial and heavily polluted landscape, but the transformation since is nothing short of amazing.

""This fish pass represents the latest major improvement for wildlife in the Derwent Valley, an area now known more for its wildlife than its industrial past".

The Environment Agency is also working to improve fish passage further up the Derwent at Ebchester Weir, in County Durham.