ONE of Swindon’s most popular angling clubs has welcomed a move by the Environment Agency to introduce free rod licences to youngsters in hope of getting them hooked on the sport.

The shake-up was announced on Wednesday which will see children, up to the age of 16, offered the free permit – meaning they can fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel with a rod and line for no charge.

Members of the Plaum’s Pit Angling Club, who run regular junior matches in the town, said as a result of the announcement, they will also be encouraging kids to get involved in fishing by offering a new intermediate course for 16 to 18 year olds.

Terry Cooper, acting treasurer of the group, said as someone who got into fishing at a young age, he recognises the importance of the announcement in securing the sport’s future.

The 74-year-old said: “We want to do everything we can to try and keep them fishing.

“We hope the Environment Agency’s announcement will keep them on board and we have run events at Coate Water before now for people to try fishing during National Fishing Month which was great because they could have a go themselves.

“When the juniors hit 16, they have to become senior members of the club to stay and we have found that once they hit that age, many give it up or feel intimidated to compete in the seniors section.”

The club, which currently has around 30 juniors , will introduce the new league to coincide with the changes in March next year.

Mel Dodson, chair of the Plaum’s Pit Angling Club added: “I have been campaigning for years to get kids off their laptops and into fishing.

“It is a great sport and while it can be expensive to start with, we help out as a club in getting these youngsters interested.”

The Environment Agency also announced other changes for anglers including a rolling rod licence that lasts for 365 days from the day of purchase rather than only running up until the end of March.

There will also be an increase to standard charges as well as changes that carp and specimen anglers have long campaigned for – the use of three rods by having just one licence, rather than needing two.

Sarah Chare, head of fisheries at the Environment Agency, said: “A free junior licence can play an important part in getting more young people fishing and securing the future of the sport. All money raised from rod licence sales is ploughed back in to England’s fisheries, and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers.” Juniors will still need to register for their free licence.