WYRE Forest's enraged anglers marched through Bewdley in protest at a proposed fishing ban aimed at protecting the town’s swans.

They claimed that the Swan Rescue centre at Wychbold was misleading the authorities about illegal lead fishing weights poisoning dozens of swans on the Severn.

Wyre Forest’s diverse waterways attract a large and passionate angling community. It’s a classless and ageless hobby, promoting a love of the countryside and an understanding of the delicate balance of nature.

Anglers have a personal interest in keeping the waters clear and many play an active role in protecting the local wildfowl. The income from fishing permits, tackle and bait sales makes an important contribution to the local economy and to conservation work.

On the flip side, angling has its vehement detractors who believe it’s only escaped inclusion in the hunting ban because too many Labour voters fish.

So, one can understand why anglers feel conspired against if someone claims their hobby is killing swans.

That said, the anglers’ claim that the Swan Rescue is lying about the nature and number of swans poisoned does not stand up.

The Environment Agency confirms that it tested the blood of 65 sick swans last year alone, all pulled out of the Severn at Bewdley and all with lead poisoning. There is no reason for the agency to lie about this. It receives a large percentage of its funding from fishing and has no desire to bite the hand that feeds it.

The problem is that no-one can prove where the lead is coming from. Silt samples from the Bewdley river bed and banks netted only four small pieces of fishing lead, three of which were illegal. The agency admits that these were inconclusive samples but the evidence doesn't point the finger of blame at anglers. The agency concurs with the anglers that lead shot from nearby shoots could be a minor contributing factor but firmly dismisses suggestions that the lead has washed down from Welsh mines. What they do state is that Bewdley has the worst lead poisoning problem in the West Midlands.

Jan Harrigan of the Swan Rescue has suggested that Bewdley follows the practice in Worcester, where a half mile fishing ban cleared up a serious lead poisoning problem in swans within two years. She argues that if Bewdley's problem has not cleared up in the same time, it will prove that the fault lies not with the fishermen and so they should have nothing to fear. Some town councillors like the idea, provoking the protest march. The anglers are furious about any such imposition on their freedoms and argue that many of the houses on Severnside North have riparian fishing rights going back centuries; rights which are protected under civil law. The anglers claim that they are being singled out by those who don't understand or tolerate fishing and who will do anything to stop them, while ignoring much bigger problems of chemical spillage, sewage dumping, fly-tipping and careless tourists.

Despite the stalemate, though, both sides want the matter settled for the good of all, including the swans. What seems to make sense is that Bewdley town council, the anglers, the Swan Rescue and the Environment Agency work together to seek a solution. The Agency agrees, seeing a cooperative approach as infinitely preferable to legislation.

For a start, why not install signs along Severnside telling the public of the dangers of feeding waterfowl with bread or chips, which makes them sick and draws them away from their natural diet along the rural riverbanks. Why not elect groups of anglers and local officers to find and rein in those few anglers who might be breaking the rules and those shotgun users illegally firing lead shot over water courses. Let's form volunteer groups to help the Environment Agency extend the survey of the river banks and gravel beds to find where the lead is coming from.

If, as the anglers say, they don't use lead and want the swans to be healthy and if, as Jan Harrigan says, she is not trying to pick a fight with the anglers surely everyone must want to find out what is really causing the problem and the best way to achieve that is to set common goals and to work together?

NEVILLE FARMER Wyre Forest Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman