ENGLAND'S only fish viewing gallery is set to open at Diglis as part of a multi-million pound scheme to open up the River Severn.

The £19.4 million project will reopen the UK's longest river to fish species, many of which vanished from its upper reaches after weirs were installed in the 1800s to help river transport during the industrial revolution.

As part of the project, the England's first underground fish viewing gallery will be installed at Diglis Weir, where visitors can see creatures swimming through glass panels.

State-of-the-art fish passes, which allow fish to travel past the blockages, will be installed at five Severn weirs and two on the River Teme to open up more than 150 miles of the rivers and give access to spawning grounds which species need.

The scheme is hoped to help threatened twaite and allis shad and also benefit declining species such as the salmon and the European eel.

Tony Bostock, chief executive officer of the Severn Rivers Trust, said: "It will deliver multiple benefits to fisheries interests, anglers and a great many local communities along the Severn and Teme.

"The state-of-the-art fish passes will truly unlock the UK's longest river and together with proposed habitat improvements provide greater resilience to climate change and other pressures in the future."

Restoring fish populations would boost the economic benefits of the River Severn, which already sees recreational and commercial fishing activities bring in more than £15 million a year.

The funding will also mean the project can work with local communities and schools to reconnect millions of people with the natural, cultural and industrial heritage of the rivers, its backers said.

Funding for the five-year project, which will see work start on the first fish pass in 2017, includes £10.8 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £6 million from the EU Life programme.

And Tom Tew, Heritage Lottery Fund trustee, said: "Unlocking the Severn is a very rare opportunity to right 150 years of wrongs.

"It will save a wonderful, but endangered, migratory fish and hugely benefit the River Severn's wider environmental health.

"The Severn has played a key role in our nation's industrial development and our natural heritage; now is the perfect moment to share that story."

He said that while complex and costly, the project would help shad run up the river in May as they used to in medieval times in their tens of thousands.

The project was developed as part of a three year long collaborative partnership between the Severn Rivers Trust, the Canal & River Trust, the Environment Agency and Natural England.