It comes after a clampdown on illegal fishing in which 118 spot checks were carried out to ensure anglers were properly licensed and fishing within the rules.

The Environment Agency operation was carried out in Lincolnshire with the help from wildlife crime officers in the county and at Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, as well as volunteers from the Angling Trust.

Anyone fishing illegally can expect to be prosecuted and face a fine of up to £2,500, up to £50,000 for byelaw offences and a potential two-year prison sentence for illegal methods.

Lee Watts, fisheries enforcement officer for the East Midlands at the Environment Agency, said: “We take illegal fishing very seriously.