Sepa has identified the source of a chemical spill that killed hundreds of fish in a Fife burn.
The environment regulator has stopped the leak at Ceres Burn and a clean-up operation is still ongoing.
However, officers cannot guarantee there is no pollution left in the burn so public hazard warnings remain in place.
Sepa warned people to stay away from Ceres Burn this week as it carried out a full-scale investigation.
It has now described the source of the spill as an “agri-chemical”. And it has taken samples for analysis.
Local landowners have been informed.
Hundreds of dead fish
Villagers raised the alarm on Monday after hundreds of dead fish were spotted in the burn that runs through Ceres village.
Ceres Burn flows into the River Eden, one of Fife’s principal rivers.
It then continues through the Eden Estuary and out to the North Sea.
Willie Mackenzie, from Ceres, said people were “pretty upset”.
“In the stretch of the burn through the village itself there were many hundreds of dead fish, mostly trout of various sizes,” he said.
The source of the spill has been identified, stopped and further clean-up operations are ongoing.”
Sepa.
The burn is also home to other species of wildlife, including kingfishers, dippers and otters.
Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie called for the investigation to be swift and for action to be taken against those responsible for the spill.
Sepa has taken samples
A Sepa spokesman said: “On Monday May 17, Sepa received reports of a number of dead fish in the Ceres Burn, Fife.
“Sepa attended to investigate the fish kill, which was due to an agri-chemical spill.
“We have taken samples to better understand exactly what chemicals have entered the watercourse and have informed local landowners of the incident.”
He added: “The local authority was able to erect signage on Wednesday to warn the public about any potential hazards at the burn.”
The spokesman thanked the public for alerting the authorities.
“The source of the spill has been identified, stopped and further clean-up operations are ongoing,” he said.
“While it is not possible at this stage to guarantee there is no pollution left in the burn, the worst of the impacts have passed.”
The incident happened a week after Sepa warned businesses to comply with environment laws or risk prosecution.
People can report potential pollution incidents to Sepa at www.sepa.org.uk/report or by calling the Sepa pollution hotline on 0800 80 70 60.