Take Action: How to report something not right
A lot has been published in the media lately – and rightly so – about the health of our rivers. This is a conversation we are delighted to have as it is an opportunity to raise awareness about river health, but also share some useful guidance about who the best person is to alert, when and why.
Tyne Rivers Trust is a registered environmental charity dedicated to improving the River Tyne and its catchment. From Alston and Kielder to Tynemouth we seek to improve the wellbeing of the Tyne rivers and people through education, tackling pollution and practical conservation. We do not have the authority or capacity to respond to incidents of pollution, flooding, poaching or unusual changes in river flow.
If you have spotted something that doesn’t look right in, or near a river, please contact the Environment Agency incident hotline as soon as possible to report one or more of the following:
- collapsed or badly damaged river banks
- damage or danger to the natural environment
- dead fish or fish gasping for air
- flooding from main rivers or the sea
- people taking water illegally from rivers, streams, canals or underground sources such as wells
- incidents at Environment Agency-regulated waste sites
- main rivers blocked by a vehicle or fallen tree causing risk of flooding
- poaching or illegal fishing
- pollution to water or land
- unusual changes in river flow
Environment Agency incident hotline
Telephone: 0800 80 70 60
This is a 24-hour service.
Find out about call charges
The Environment Agency is funded in part from the UK government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Official guidance states that due to funding constraints they are:
- are unable to respond to every environmental incident reported to them
- need to prioritise their activities on incidents that cause serious and significant risk
- are reducing their response to less severe incidents
- may in some cases, after assessing the risk, decide that no further action will be taken
- will use the information provided to build a picture of environmental threats – to enable targeted compliance, regulation and enforcement
- will continue to regulate activities with an environmental permit so they can prevent damage to the environment
- will not provide feedback to individual reports of environmental incidents
You can report waste crime anonymously to Crimestoppers, such as dumping large amounts of waste illegally.
Crimestoppers
Report crime online
Telephone: 0800 555 111
24-hour service
Find out about call charges
For the following incidents, there is separate guidance to find out whether you should notify your local council or the utility company to:
- report burst water mains
- report dangerous buildings or structures
- report discarded syringes
- report flooding from a brook or stream, or from any river that’s not a main river
- report fly-tipping
- report a litter problem
- report noise
- report pest nuisances
Call the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme if you think an animal has been poisoned by pesticides.
Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme
Telephone: 0800 321 600
Find out about call charges
