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Day the water turned to milk: Mystery of white brook
AN apparent "river of milk" greeted people as they tucked into breakfast.
Residents in homes backing on to Hebble Brook, which runs through Salterhebble, Halifax, were stunned to see the water flowing down to the River Calder had turned white.
The Environment Agency said they received a number of calls from concerned residents about the colour of the brook.
Chris Battye, 36, who sent us the picture on the right, was taken aback by the view at the bottom of his garden in Riverside Court, Salterhebble.
The primary school teacher said: "I went out at around 10.45am and looked over the wall.
"I couldn't believe it. It was completely white. It looked very milky."
However, within an hour of the reports, the brook was almost back to its usual colour with only a slightly cloudy appearance.
A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said an officer had immediately been alerted and was sent straight to the waterside to investigate.
She said the river seemed to have returned to almost its normal colour and no ecological damage seemed to have been caused.
But she said the officer would try to take samples from the river and monitor the situation.
She added: "We would urge anyone who has information about what happened or notices any more changes to call the information line on 0800 807060."
Mr Battye and his family only moved into their house around a month ago but he said another neighbour said they had never seen anything like it before.
In fact this is not the first time this section of water has undergone a dramatic colour change.
Last November the Courier reported that Yorkshire Water was fined 12,000 for turning the water purple with untreated sewage in February.
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Weather for Halifax
Tuesday 05 June 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 9 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 10 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South west
