HUNDREDS of fish found dead in Nottingham Canal on Saturday morning had suffocated.

British Waterways and the Environment Agency investigated the deaths after people walking by the canal were shocked to see the bodies in the water.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "We believe the fish have died from a lack of oxygen, due to a combination of factors mainly caused by the warm weather."

Hot weather increases the water temperature and spurs plant growth, causing levels of oxygen to drop overnight.

The spokesman said extra plant material from the drainage system could have been washed in by heavy rain.

Some of the fish were up to 30cm long.

People walking along the canal near the Castle Marina branch of Sainsbury's said they were shocked by what they saw.

Anne Wood, a 24-year-old personal assistant from The Park, said: "I've come to do some food shopping but I feel a bit sick now. It's just horrible to see them floating around."

Dorothy Hadley, a 28-year-old mother, from The Meadows, said: "I've brought my little girl along to feed the ducks but there don't seem to be many around today. The water looks really dirty and still and when we looked we saw all these dead fish in there."

Workers from British Waterways were today working to flush out the canal and remove the fish which died from a lack of oxygen.

Stephen Hardy, from British Waterways, said similar incidents had occurred across the county due to the warm weather and heavy rain.