It is a race against time to protect the environment and pondlife after a sewage leak in Chequers Wood near Canterbury Barracks and Howe Barracks.

The incident at Reed Pond near Canterbury is on the edge of a site of special scientific interest and officers from the Environment Agency are battling to save fish living in the water.

Along with the Ministry of Defence, which owns the land, the agency is working with Southern Water to stop the sewage leak from polluting the water and important wildlife habitat any further.

The crude sewage pollution contains several potentially-polluting elements including ammonia which strips water of the oxygen that fish need to survive.

It is thought around ten dead fish have been discovered and around 100 fish have been reported to be gasping for air.

The Environment Agency has deployed aeration equipment to get air back into the water, helping to stop any further fish deaths.

Environment Agency spokesman Andrew Pearce said: “We acted swiftly when we were first alerted to this sewage leak incident, and have teams down on the site working with emergency services to save pond life and limit any harmful pollution damage.

“We will be investigating what happened here, in an effort to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

"Surveys of the affected area will take place to assess the impact of any ecological impact over coming weeks.

“Members of the public are encouraged to report any instances of pollution to our incident hotline on 0800 807060.”