River Rede in Northumberland sees return of endangered pearl mussels

Thousands of fish have been released into a Northumberland river in an effort to re-establish a rare species of freshwater mussel.

Environment Agency officers released 11,000 sea trout into the River Rede, some of which were carrying microscopic pearl mussel larvae.

The endangered molluscs’ unusual breeding process requires fertilised eggs to “latch” on to fish to develop.