Some of East Anglia’s best-known fishermen are concerned about the future of its waterways and the sport of river fishing after roach, perch, pike, chub, and eels all perished in the river Wensum.

John Bailey, the man behind the curtain of the hit TV series Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse Gone Fishing, has caught specimen roach from the river which the next generation of anglers can only dream of.

The author and angler, who now lives in Herefordshire, has witnessed a major decline in his lifetime.

John Bailey with a fine roach from the River Wensum (Image: John Bailey)

'AN IRRETRIEVABLE CRASH'

Mr Bailey said: “When I was a kid, Norfolk was nationally famous. Wensum roach were a byword for magnificence and people used to come from all over the country to fish it.

“We have squandered all that.

“There has been the most horrendous crash in the quality of river fishing.

“An irretrievable crash within a single lifetime.

“One of the tragedies is nobody is accountable and nobody is doing anything about it,........

© Eastern Daily Press