A fisherman has warned that rivers in the area will "disappear" if tighter restrictions are not placed on water companies.

Allan Jackson, 51, said too much groundwater abstraction is reducing water limits to “dangerous levels” and pollution is killing fish and wildlife.

He said there should be limits on the amount of water companies can abstract for drinking because soon it will be "too late" and the area will be deprived of lakes, rivers and wildlife.

He said: “The rivers are literally disappearing before our eyes and it’s been going on for some years now. It’s a completely dire situation.

“The rivers are meant to be around 4ft deep but instead, they’re about 6ins. I remember when you could hire boats on the lake in Oxhey Park, and now the pool of water is around 3ft wide.

“We are at crisis point but no one seems to be doing anything to help it – if it continues, rivers in this area will be completely devoid of life.”

He also noted that companies are legally allowed to pour sewage into waterways following periods of heavy rain and this pollution is blinding fish and causing oxygen crashes.

He said: “In this day and age, I think most people would be shocked to hear that sewage is being poured into waterways.

“So many fish were killed a few years back in the River Colne because of an oxygen crash – they were never replaced, but even if they had been, judging by the state of the river, I’m pretty sure they’d be dead by now anyway.

"The river is in such a state that any minor pollution incident is going to cause irreparable damage. I understand that as Watford expands the level of water consumed increases, but to what cost to the rivers?

"The water companies should have invested in upgrading water services and building reservoirs to hold more water rather than continuously drawing it from the pumping stations lining the river."

The Environment Agency has been contacted for a comment.