Couple horrified by what they saw in the River Mersey as they strolled

A couple said they were “disturbed” after spotting it in the River Mersey during a weekend walk. Richard Hawes and his wife were walking in Widnes when they made the discovery.

The 71-year-old explained: “We went for a walk around 4pm. We parked at Pickerings Point and walked towards Ditton Brook. I couldn’t see anything going down because there are very tall hedges.

“But on the way back I noticed this great flow of mud. The water was full of big lumps of stuff of all different sizes – there were lots of them. I didn’t think it was sewage because it wasn’t really a smell. We wondered where the hell they came from, we just don’t know enough to know what they are.”

While Mr Hawes said he was not sure if what he saw in the Mersey was sewage, it had been a problem in this area of ​​the river previously. In August 2022, the ECHO published a series of videos which appeared to show raw sewage in the Mersey near Widnes.

Speaking at the time, witness Connor Gurney told the ECHO: “It was an incredibly strange smell and although I’m not 100% sure what it was – all I could describe it as was a pungent, sweet but sickening smell , which was totally inevitable. – no matter how little you inspired.”

Around the same time, Liverpool City Councilor Steve Munby shared images he had taken of sewage in the river near Otterspool Promenade. Cllr Munby described the scene as “one of the most revolting things he has ever seen”, adding: “There is no doubt that this was gross sewage – and lots of it, it was disgusting, clearly something went wrong “.

North West water company United Utilities said it was not responsible for scenes on the Mersey in 2022. The ECHO asked if the company was aware of the latest situation in the river in Widnes.