Rescuers save the cray

12:02pm Thursday 17th August 2006

CONSER VATIONISTS launched a mercy mission to rescue crayfish from deadly American invaders.

The British whiteclaw crayfish were slowly but surely being eaten by aggressive American Signal crayfish at the By Brook near Chippenham.

The American crayfish were originally brought to Britain as food, but escaped into the wild. Environment Agency spokesman Paul Gainey said: "The American crayfish were eating the British species and also wiping them out with a fungal disease they carry, called the Crayfish plague."

More than 250 of the endangered crayfish were carefully scooped up by a team of ten last Wednesday and Thursday and taken to safer waters in the Mendips.

Mr Gainey said: "It was important when the crayfish were moved that we didn't effect the ecology and tests were carried out on the water in before we moved them there.

"They seem to be thriving in their new environment though and at some point next year there will be a second move and more of the crayfish will be transported somewhere else too."