A river campaigner who organised a cleanup of his local waterway is being threatened with prosecution by the Environment Agency for acting illegally.

Paul Powlesland, a lawyer and environmental campaigner, organised a team of volunteers to tackle the removal of litter, weed and silt from a section of the River Roding, after repeatedly asking the agency to act.

The team of volunteers from the River Roding Trust removed 200 bags of rubbish, branches and silt over 10 days from Alders Brook, a tributary of the river that runs through rural Essex and Barking, earlier this year. But the EA has sent Powlesland a letter saying he is being investigated for illegally intervening without a permit.