Fish That 'Killed King' Back In British Rivers

An ancient species of fish famous for killing a king has been spotted in British rivers for the first time in 200 years.

Lampreys evolved almost 200 million years before the dinosaurs but a rise in pollution levels during the Industrial Revolution drove them out of British rivers.

Conservation work by the Environment Agency has seen the "living fossils" return to rivers including the Ouse, Trent and Derwent.

Tiles have been used to allow the fish to use their sucker-like mouths to anchor themselves as they migrate upstream.

Weirs which blocked the fish's passage have also been removed and changes have been made to let the fish get past other obstacles.

The lowest water pollution levels for more than 100 years have also helped bring them back to the rivers.

Simon Toms, a fisheries expert at the Environment Agency, said: "For the last 200 years, some rivers have not been capable of supporting lamprey species as a result of water quality, poor habitat and manmade barriers.

"Now that water quality has improved and some of these barriers have been removed we are seeing lampreys return to the upper reaches of rivers such as the Ouse, Trent, and Derwent.

"These are fascinating fish, living fossils, that have a special place in the history and traditions of this country, and we hope that with a helping hand from us they will be able to thrive in England's rivers once again."

The fish were once regarded as a luxury food, and were eaten by Romans, Vikings and royalty.

King Henry I of England was known for his love of the taste of lamprey and was widely believed to have died by eating too many of them.

However most historians think he died from blood poisoning.

The Queen was sent a lamprey pie in 2012, using fish from the Great Lakes in North America.