PEOPLE in Hampshire who live or work near and use local rivers such as the Itchen are being asked to help decide their fate.

An Environment Agency (EA) consultation into every river in the UK has been criticised for failing to engage many of those who hold vital information, such as anglers and community groups.

The Our Rivers campaign – launched this week by WWF, RSPB, Angling Trust and the Association of River Trusts – aims to address these concerns by providing a more straightforward way for people to pass on their unique local knowledge to the EA.

Information gathered by the campaign will then be presented to the EA and Ministers as a formal request for action.

Chris Packham, RSPB vice-president, said: “Clean, healthy rivers, teeming with life are what we all want to see and that is what the Our Rivers campaign is all about.

“By standing up for the River Itchen through the Our Rivers campaign I’m drawing attention to the problems it faces at a time when I could really make a difference for my river. Standing up for your river is easy to do, just go to the Our Rivers website.”