Singer-turned-environmentalist Feargal Sharkey has accused the Environment Agency of unlawfully abstracting water from the River Lea in Hertfordshire and has threatened to seek a judicial review if the regulator does not restore the river’s natural flow. In a pre-action letter sent on behalf of the Amwell Magna Fishery—which Sharkey chairs—the club says daily flow through the stretch of river fell to 66 million litres from about 156 million after the Agency began pumping on 3 June. The reduced level, the letter argues, is devastating a rare population of breeding brown trout and jeopardising conservation work carried out jointly with the regulator. The dispute arises as England confronts drought conditions that have led water companies to request emergency permits to draw from rivers. The Environment Agency has not yet responded publicly to Sharkey’s allegations.