Course fish anglers in Yorkshire will be anxiously watching attempts to prevent the spread of a deadly carp disease which has hit a fishery near Grantham, Lincs.

Carp are the quarry of choice for thousands of anglers and many travel long distances to fish specialist waters. Now, an outbreak of the Koi herpesvirus disease at the Wagtail Fishery at Marston has set alarm bells ringing.

The transport of carp to other fisheries has been banned by the environment department Defra and disinfection units have been set up to cleanse fishing tackle used at the fishery.

As the name suggests, the virus attacks ornamental Koi carp, kept in ponds by thousands of gardeners, but can also infect British wild species like common, mirror and ghost carp. It can cause large scale fish mortality but, says Defra, there is no risk to human health.