QUICK thinking members of the Wellington Basins Volunteer Group averted a near catastrophe in the ponds earlier this week.

Hundreds of pounds worth of fish could easily have suffocated after the recent cold snap lead to a shortage of oxygen in the pond water.

But members of the volunteer group spotted the problem in one of the smaller ponds in its early stages and set up an aerator in the small pond to pump oxygen back in.

They also caught the fish that were having problems and moved them into the big pond.

For the full story, see this week's Somerset County Gazette.