Disaster struck in the feeder stream that runs through the Old Ditchingham Maltings beside the much-famed Chicken Roundabout. This 600-yard section linking dykes from the Bypass marshes and running into the River Waveney below Wainford Malting's first marsh, was largely a fast-running gravel bottomed fish sanctuary.

Disaster struck in the feeder stream that runs through the Old Ditchingham Maltings beside the much-famed Chicken Roundabout.

This 600-yard section linking dykes from the Bypass marshes and running into the River Waveney below Wainford Malting's first marsh, was largely a fast-running gravel bottomed fish sanctuary. Location of the dace in this area had proved vital to their recovery in the river system.

This week, birds picked off thousands of fry and fish up to 4in long trapped in 1-2 inch pools from a lowering of the water level. Environment Agency Officer Graham Gamble identified the crisis as possibly due to dredging of dykes in the area. Kate Dodds of the EA visited with a Suffolk County AAA Official the next day, and confirmed a deeper dredged dyke had changed the course of 90pc of the flow into a direction away from its natural progression.

Now around 12in lower than its normal level, the effects would have been far worse had not passers-by and anglers transferred around 200 fish to a deeper area.

Cherry Tree president Richard Patrick recalled substantial shoals of quality fish once present and expressed his disappointment that a lack of forethought had robbed the river of its lifeblood stock.