A PEDIGREE family of brown trout at risk of being left high and dry in the hot weather has been rescued from a north Herefordshire river.

They were among more than 1,000 fish, including bullheads and minnows, floundering in pools of the evaporating River Teme near Leintwardine.

DNA research has shown the trout all belong to the same bloodline. In most rivers there is considerable interbreeding as different families are introduced.

The rare fish were treated no differently to their watery companions in a rescue last Saturday by Environment Agency fisheries officers.

Using a mild electric shock they stunned the fish, scooping up their floating bodies before transferring them to holding tanks and carefully introducing them to deeper waters down stream.

"The dry weather has contributed to the problem, drying up the river. The water starts flowing through the gravel so the fish are left high and dry.

"We do quite a few of these rescues when fish are in distress. This was a prime example but it happens every year," said the Environment Agency's Lyn Fraley.