WASTE flowing into a river could be causing damage to wildlife in the area, claims a resident. Andrew Fowler is concerned about soapy residue flowing into the River Rhee, near Arrington. He said: It s unacceptable to see what smells like sewerage runni

WASTE flowing into a river could be causing damage to wildlife in the area, claims a resident.

Andrew Fowler is concerned about soapy residue flowing into the River Rhee, near Arrington.

He said: "It's unacceptable to see what smells like sewerage running straight into a river.

"The environment agency should have dealt with this by now but obviously they haven't."

Mr Fowler first noticed the problem in September when he was filming a documentary in the area.

"One of the men I was working with asked whether there was a sewerage farm nearby because the smell was so bad," he said.

"When we investigated we found it was coming from the river.

"There is so much wildlife around that part of the river which could be affected, and there's the affect on aquatic animals to be considered as well."

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said that it is currently investigating the incident, which it is believed could stem from a nearby hand car wash.

She said: "Officers are aware of the situation, and went out to Arrington last week to investigate and take samples.

"We are currently running tests on these samples and once we have the results back we will know what the best course of action is to take."

The spokesman added that the agency had already spoken to the operators of the car wash, who are "keen to do all they can" to prevent any problems occurring in the future.

"At the moment it is too early to say what the source of the problem is. It would seem that it is some kind of soap product, but we don't yet know whether it is a household type or the sort used for washing cars," she said.