A RESCUE operation was launched this week to save dying fish after a beck ran dry in Burley-in-Wharfedale for the first time in living memory.

Officers from the Environment Agency set about moving crayfish - a protected species - upstream to safety.

As well as the crayfish, which had collected in small pools, brown trout and bull heads also got trapped in the muddy bed as the water subsided.

A spokeswoman for the agency said: "We have got officers out at the moment. They are trying to rescue some of the fish that have been trapped. There are quite a few dead ones.

"Our first priority, in terms of fisheries, is to see what we can do for the crayfish that are still managing to survive."

Villagers were amazed to find the beck, which runs through the village from Ilkley Moor, had dried up, from Station Road to the village green. Even the most longstanding residents could not remember a time when the water had stopped flowing.

Dick Hargrave, of Wrexham Road, said: "I have lived in Burley all my life - I am not going to tell you how old I am but it's a long time - and I've never seen it run dry."

Tom Sumner, of Sandholme Drive, said: "I have lived here for 25 years. In all those years, working on this area, I have never seen it dry up. There are lots of fish dying. It is not normal. Somebody somewhere or other is doing something to this stream."

But, a glance on Saturday morning confirmed a dry river bed - and the scores of dead or dying fish.

Rumours abounded in the village as to the cause of the mysterious drought, some blaming the weather. It was thought that a collapsed culvert in a resident's garden could be to blame.

The environment agency spokeswoman said: "We are still looking into it but we believe the problem might be a collapsed culvert."

"The problem has been exacerbated by very low flows. If you have got that combined with a collapsed culvert, you have a problem."

But Bradford Council's drainage manager, Tony Poole, said the culvert was inspected yesterday and there was no evidence that it had collapsed.

"However, the grilles on the culvert in Scalebor Park have been blocked by leaves and debris and the landowner has been asked to clear these as soon as possible," he said.

"Further investigations, using CCTV, are to be carried out to see if any dfefects canm be located elsewhere in the system. If any are found we will pursue the landowner to ensure that the necessary work is done.

"However, water levels upstream are low because of the current dry spell and this might be causing some of the problems."

The Environment Agency is now working with Bradford City Council to resolve the problem.