THE canal between Kidderminster and Stourport has turned a greenish-blue colour after chemicals were reportedly dumped in the water.

The watercourse between the Bullock Lane Bridge and Oldington Bridge has been described as being "a weird turquoise colour", leading to questions about a potentially toxic blue-green algae which has been spotted in lakes and rivers in other areas of the country.

But the Canal and River Trust has reassured residents that the cause of the discolouration is not algae, but rather chemicals which have been dumped into the water.

Kidderminster Shuttle:

A trust spokesman said: "We are aware of this and I would like to reassure residents that the canal turning blue isn’t because of algae.

"Sadly someone has decided to dump some sort of chemical into the canal which has caused the water to turn blue.

"With boats moving the water along the canal it has started to disperse and is now turning to a green colour.

"We are monitoring the situation and our teams are keeping an eye out for any fish in distress, the chemical should eventually break down within the water.

The Environment Agency has also conducted a site visit, and is monitoring the situation.

Kidderminster Shuttle:

An agency spokesman said: "Following a report by a member of the public, we visited the site on Thursday morning (August 15).

"During our inspection of the canal we did not observe any discolouration in the water or any other environmental concerns.

"As nothing was visible when we visited we cannot confirm why the colour has changed.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and would encourage people to contact our 24 hour free phone incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 if they have any further concerns."