Moat at Bishop's Palace in Wells 'smells like slurry'

Head Gardener James Cross said the water was a 'chocolate brown colour'

The moat at the Bishop's Palace in Wells has been polluted, according to a post on the tourist attraction's Instagram page.

Speaking to the BBC, James Cross, property manager and head gardener of the estate, said: "We smelt it early this morning before it got light".

He said that as the light came up he could see the water was "a chocolate brown colour".

Water samples have been taken and the Environment Agency is investigating.

A post on the tourist attraction's social media page said: "It looks and smells like slurry".

Mr Cross said the moat is fed by an underground river with lots of underground streams from the Mendips.

He urged members of the public to report anything that might be related to the incident to the Environment Agency.