Sewage and iron muddy the waters '¨of River Carron

Stuart Wright, of Langlees, has been fishing the river near Larbert Viaduct for four years now, but in the last couple of weeks he has noticed the sewage and the fact the water was brown at times. He has also seen stretches of water that were milky white.

Mr Wright said: “Two weeks ago I noticed the sewage – it was the worst I had ever seen it – so I got in touch with SEPA. The thing is the river is clear from Fankerton, but the stretch from Larbert Viaduct right down to Grangemouth is not.

“The other day I just couldn’t fish it because it was so brown, there wasn’t a single fish rising.”

Mr Wright also alerted local councillor Stephen Bird.

Councillor Bird said: “Fishermen like Stuart are a valuable resource because they can tell us when there is something wrong. The brown colour comes from the iron in the old mines – it’s not harmful and SEPA is aware of it. SEPA is investigating the sewage and the first priority is finding out the source.

“We don’t want something that could undo the good work going on along the River Carron.”