Car wrecks removed at River Dee to help mussels and salmon

Work to remove cars and rubble from the banks of the River Dee to help pearl mussels and salmon is being carried out.

A 100m gap in the riverbank on the Mar Lodge Estate in Aberdeenshire was filled with a range of materials, including old cars, in 1984.

Many vehicles and tonnes of concrete and boulders are being removed to cut the risk of pollution, due to erosion.

The work is part of a European-funded £3.5m Pearls in Peril project.

David Frew, property manager for Mar Lodge Estate, said: "The car embankment has been a blot on an otherwise iconic landscape for many years, and it will be fantastic to see this restoration work finally take place."