Wildlife casualties are increasing in Surrey as a result of environmental changes brought on by the recent drought, a leading wildlife monitoring body has revealed.

Dead ducks and fish, toxic algal thriving and rivers being reduced to trickles are all becoming a common sight across the south-east Thames region this summer as the drought takes its toll on the environment, the Environment Agency have said.

At more than 100 sites across England and Wales over the past two months, low water and oxygen levels have caused fish to gasp for air, turned ponds green, and stranded several types of insects that live in water, as rivers dry up.

In other cases, rivers are silting up because of low flows, trees are shedding their leaves earlier than normal, and dry wetlands are causing problems for breeding waders who use the wetlands for food sources.

The Environment Agency today released a map showing the full impact the drought is having on the environment, particularly in Surrey which is still facing possibly the most serious drought of the past 100 years.

Director of water management at the Environment Agency, Dr David King, said that after two dry winters and the more recent hot, dry summer weather, the environmental impacts of the drought were becoming more apparent.

"This drought is not only affecting people in the way we use water - we've now seen 21 months of below-average rain and the environment is suffering too.

"We're seeing ponds and rivers drying up, fish becoming stranded and algal blooms," he said.

"At first, we couldn't see the impact of the drought around us, as the real problems were low ground water levels in the south-east.

But the continued lack of rainfall, low water levels and recent high temperatures have put pressure on the environment right across England and Wales.

"It's now clear that the impact of the drought is no longer just contained to the south east of England, where water shortages were impacting on customer's water use. The environmental problems are much more widespread.

"It's our job to make sure that the impacts of water shortages are balanced between the environment and people."

"The Environment Agency responds immediately to reports of environmental incidents, carrying out fish rescues, increasing oxygen levels in water and monitoring water levels. But sometimes we can all take it for granted that the water that comes out of our taps ultimately comes from somewhere in our environment."

Environmental problems can be reported by calling 0800 80 70 60 (free 24 hour service).

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