Two-year project to install eel screens begins

An £11.8m project to install screens to help eels safely navigate a river has begun.

The screens will be placed at Barrasford raw pumping station on the River North Tyne in Northumberland over the next two years and are designed to prevent European eels from entering the station workings.

It follows the start of another £11m project in February for a pair of screens at the Ovingham pumping station on the Tyne.

Graeme Ridley, project manager at Northumbrian Water, said: "While much of the work takes place behind the scenes, the new eel screens will play a vital role in helping to protect migrating eels and support the long-term health of the River North Tyne."

European eels have been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2008.

Numbers have declined by between 90-95% since the 1980s due to a range of factors including habitat loss, climate change and overfishing.