HUNDREDS of fish have been killed after a pollution spill affected a lake on the Hulton Estate.

The Environment Agency is investigating the cause of the pollution at the water which for years has been a favourite for Atherton anglers.

This week members of Bolton Angling Club manned pumps to re-oxygenate the water and on Monday the Environment Agency said at least 150 fish had been confirmed dead, with as many as 1,000 more under threat in the estate’s lake.

A spokesman said: “We are currently carrying out an investigation to see where the pollution has come from. The last count we had revealed that around 150 fish had died but there were around 1,000 gasping for breath.

“We have taken steps to pump oxygen back into the waters and that process is continuing.

"The investigation is still ongoing.”

Angling club spokesman Andy Commons said volunteers had been at the estate since June 8.

He said: “We are losing quite a lot of fish. A rough estimate is that we have got around 100 lbs out of the water so far. The seagulls have been around here taking fish as well and there will be quite a lot on the bottom which we cannot see. It’s a crying shame.”

One local resident, who did not want to be named, said: “It was like a scene out of a horror film when I went down to see what was going on.

“There were fish all floating on the surface of the water. It was very distressing to see.”

The lake is on the 1,000 acre estate owned for centuries by the Hulton family but acquired by The Peel Group last September after being put on the market with an £8.5 million price tag.