Ten thousand young salmon have been released into a so-called eco-hatchery in Cornwall to help revive stocks in the North Atlantic.

Tons of silt have been cleared to create it in an old leat - a channel originally built to carry fast-flowing water across country.

The idea is to allow the fish to feed and grow naturally in clean water before making their way out to sea.

Fisheries biologist Axel Bamberger, who helped establish the fishery near Bodmin, said: "We're not feeding them by hand - not putting anything in.

River link

"We're just making sure the habitat is right."

Salmon stocks in the North Atlantic have fallen by more than 80% in the past 30 years.

The project is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK.

It has been paid for by local angling and river associations and is the result of more than three years' work.

The leat joins the River Camel, which opens into an estuary between Wadebridge and Padstow.

It is hoped the young salmon will enter the river and begin the long journey to their ocean feeding areas.