Resources available to restock the River Crane with fish would be better spent improving the habitat and connections, an environmental group has said.

The Environment Agency restocked the river with some 7,500 fish earlier this month, following two pollution catastrophes in the past three years.

But the Friends of the River Crane Environment (Force) said it needed to take a longer-term approach to sustainability in the river.

Force trustee Joe Pecorelli said: "Force accepts that there are benefits to restocking the river, such as the engagement of anglers in the river, increased awareness derived from the media coverage of the fish releases and the early return of predatory birds such as kingfisher and heron.

"However, in the longer term we would rather see a move away from the practice unless absolutely necessary.

"We think any resources available for stocking would be better put into the work of improving habitats for fishes in the river and improved connections both upstream and downstream to quicken natural fish recruitment."