A RIVER conservation trust has been awarded £20,000 of funding.

The Aire Rivers Trust, based in Bradford, has received a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to recruit volunteers up and down the river to monitor its health and identify incidents of contamination.

The project will combine the Trust’s long-term team of 20 volunteers, who count river bugs each month in Bradford and Leeds, with large rounds of volunteering that focus on single issues - such as hidden pipes that flow into the river and non-native plants that smother native vegetation.

Simon Watts, operations manager at Aire Rivers Trust, said: “As a Rivers Trust we’re ideally placed to improve our rivers. 

“River Aire Pollution Spotters not only help find polluters but also help find locations where improving our river could make the biggest difference.

"This funding will enable us to continue to offer support to our monitors and bring together more volunteers to identify and challenge incidents of pollution along our river.”