'New tool' to clean rivers of metal mine pollutants

A pilot scheme to clean rivers polluted by abandoned metal mines has delivered "staggering" results, environment officials have claimed.

The new technology - thought to be a world-first - removed up to 99.5% of metals which impact water quality.

The electrochemical technique separated a metallic sludge from mine discharges leaving clean water behind.

Peter Stanley, a water and land contamination specialist at environment regulator Natural Resources Wales, says the big advantage of the system it had trialled was that it did not take up much space.