TWO friends rescued dozens of fish after they were washed out of their pond.

The recent storms caused Pells Pond in Lewes to burst its banks over the weekend, sending its aquatic residents over the top.

That is when angling friends Rory Read, 26, and Owen Cobb, 28, put on their waders to save the carp and roach which were now on the wrong side of the pond.

Rory said: “We have been fishing there since we were kids and it’s sad to see so many fish be lost.

“It is a shame that nowadays the kids are not fishing there as they used to be.

“We thought ‘this has got to stop’ and so we got together to get them back as they will die if we didn’t.

“The water levels will drop in the summer, the fish will dry out and die or the herrings will get them.”

Rory and Owen were at the pond on Sunday and Tuesday to rescue the fish that had been washed out.

They walked from one side of the water to the other, cornering the fish into shallower end.

Once there, the pair used nets to get them back into the pond.

Rory said: “We have caught about 20 carp and about 7lb of roach.

“Obviously the odd one gets past you.”

Rory and Owen, both from Lewes, have been fishing together at Pells Pond since they were small children.

Rory said: “It’s a community that has been there for years – people go there and feed the ducks – the water runs so clear that you can see the wildlife.

“The council did a good job of fixing it up but there’s been no maintenance and the kids trash it.

“Us anglers wanted to make a statement that it needs to be kept up.”