Stream turns bright red and no one knows why
'What the hell is that? It looks like the start of a horror film!'
A stream in Birmingham has turned bright red and everyone’s scratching their head over it.
The strange occurrence was spotted at Perry Common Meadows in Birmingham yesterday morning by a member of the public.
Environment investigators at Birmingham City Council have now launched an investigation into the matter.
Perry Common Ward councillor Jilly Bermingham posted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘I have been made aware of the strange happening in Perry Common Meadows and I am having it investigated.’
The water had largely returned to normal today, however, red remnants were still visible further downstream.
Ms Bermingham told BirminghamLive: ‘I have the environment officers going down to check it out.
‘At the moment I don’t know what it is. I was only told about it last night. I put it on X mainly to warn people in case they got shocked if they went down there.
‘I’m waiting to hear what has caused it, which I hope will be today or tomorrow. They are going to take urgent action to clear it, although they can’t do it until they know what it is.
‘If it was paint there would have to be a lot of it to make it that dark. I don’t know if it’s some sort of chemical reaction.’
Several people responded to Ms Berminghem’s post on X.
Brandwood and Kings Heath councillor David Barker said: ‘What the hell is that? It looks like the start of a horror film!’
Other comments included: ‘When I said go out and paint the town red last night, I didn’t mean it literally.’
Last July parts of the River Trent in North Staffordshire turned bright orange and electric blue after clothing dyes were accidentally dumped into the water.
The Environmental Agency reassured the public that no fish or wildlife have been seen in distress, and that samples showed no cause for concern.
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