Water pollution alert is 'not sewage'

The Environment Agency said its officers were attempting to locate the source of the pollution

Severn Trent has said there has been no sewage leak into the River Severn in Shropshire.

The Environment Agency said it had been to investigate a "suspected sewage discharge" in the county on Friday.

It said had been called to Cressage, near Shrewsbury, to a spot by the River Severn.

But Severn Trent, the water company for the area said the substance found "has not come from any Severn Trent operations" and was not sewage.

One man living in the village described what he believed was a "disgusting huge slick of sewage".

The Environment Agency took samples from the water to investigate.

But later, Severn Trent said it had carried out its own "pretty rigorous investigations here and nothing is indicating that this is any kind of sewage pollution".

It said all of its assets in the area were working as they should and that there had been "no spills from any upstream outfalls in the last 48 hours".

It added: "While we can’t be entirely sure of the cause, it’s more likely a natural foaming as a result of a partial collapse of the riverbank."