Conservative councillors have expressed anger and frustration after two dead deer have been left decomposing in the River Trothy near Dingestow for several weeks, despite repeated requests to Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for action.

Richard John and Jayne McKenna, Conservative Councillors for Mitchel Troy and Trellech, have been raising the issue with Monmouthshire County Council's Environmental Health team and NRW after local residents expressed concern about the impact on the river and water quality.

Following a site inspection on 21st July, NRW informed the councillors that, because the carcasses do not pose a flood risk, they will not be removing them. NRW also said water quality tests carried out downstream indicated the carcasses had not affected water quality.

Cllr Richard John said, “Local people are rightly disgusted that these deer have been left to rot in the River Trothy for weeks. It is simply unacceptable that Natural Resources Wales appears to be washing its hands of the problem because it does not consider it a flood risk.

"The Trothy is an important local river and residents deserve confidence that water quality is being properly protected. NRW says it has carried out water quality testing, so we have asked for that information to be published."

Cllr Jayne McKenna said, "Residents are understandably frustrated that no organisation seems prepared to take responsibility. NRW are quick enough to penalise farmers if they don’t deal with fallen stock quickly enough, yet in this situation NRW seem quite happy to renege on their responsibilities and ignore the risks of river contamination.

"We urge NRW to think again, prioritise protecting the quality of the Trothy by removing these carcasses and publish the water quality data so local people can see the evidence for themselves."