A saltwater barrier in Potter Heigham was not used during a tidal surge which killed thousands of fish on the Norfolk Broads over the weekend, it has emerged.

From Thursday, September 15 high tides in the North Sea had pushed saltwater as far as 24 miles inland.

Since the weekend 45,000 freshwater fish had to be rescued from parts of the Norfolk Broads, with thousands of others dying as a result of the rising levels of saltwater.

By Herbert Woods marina in Potter Heigham there is a saltwater barrier in place, which is to be raised during surges to restrict the amount of fish coming to harm.

In 2016, the Environment Agency (EA) announced the barrier had saved 100,000 fish from a similar surge.

But this time, the barrier was not raised.

An EA spokesperson said: “We manage the saltwater barrier at Herbert Woods marina. On September 16, after careful consideration, we decided not to operate the barrier and concentrated our response in other areas."

The spokesperson said other contributing factors in their decision not to raise the barrier included fewer fish in the basin.

They also said a high number of boat movements were planned over the weekend, which would have been impacted by a raised barrier.

John Currie, chair of the Norwich and District Pike Club, said more could have been done.

"It's madness," Mr Currie said.

"The barrier is a fantastic idea and it has saved thousands of fish for years. If the barrier was raised at the right time, the fish wouldn't be in danger.

"For two years on the trot, they've neglected it and as a result, hundreds of thousands of fish have died.

"The damage has been done on this one already. But unless they do something about it, it's going to get a lot worse."

Mr Currie said the recent salt surges are unprecedented, and he has seen salt contamination as far as 24 miles upriver.

"What we're seeing is parts of the Broads under seawater that haven't seen seawater since the 1950s," he said.

"We're now losing species of fish, insects and microorganisms forever. If this continues, the Broads will be nothing more than a salt marsh."

"We're killing the Broads if nothing is done."

The barrier at Potter Heigham

An article written in February by the Broads Angling Services Group said they had started discussions with the Environment Agency about repairing the barrier by Herbert Woods marina, saying the 25-year-old barrier was "in clear need of repair".

The EA denied these claims, stating that an assessment of the barrier was taken in March and it was "found to be in good condition".

A spokesperson added: "The report did suggest repairs to improve the function and extend the life of the gate, which are being looked at."

Paul Rice, founder of Broads Watch and senior flood warden and emergency coordinator with North Norfolk Council, had said more could have been done to prevent the fish from dying if people had been warned of the salt surges ahead of time.

The Environment Agency spokesperson said: "We do not alert the public of a salt surge.

"However, if necessary we would issue flood alerts and warnings to notify people of any flood risk in the area."

People can sign up for the Environment Agency's free flood warnings system by visiting www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings or calling 0345 988 1188.