A river has turned a bright orange colour overnight, with locals left gobsmacked by the sudden change - comparing it to 'the plagues of Egypt'.
The River Dee in North Wales is a popular walking spot for dogwalkers and families, but it has been turned a murky, orange hue and is now letting off a 'mouldy odour' since the weekend.
The change of colour was reported along the Dee’s canalised section in towards Chester.
In the city, more photos emerged on Facebook of orange waters, with further reports coming from upstream.
“The whole (Dee) estuary was orange,” said one woman on social media, North Wales Live reports.
Removal man Andy Gray was astonished to see the state of the water.
He said: “I’ve been walking my dogs along the river most days for 15 years,” he said. “I’ve never seen it looking remotely like that before.
"The river is never this colour, not even slightly. People were literally stopping to take photos and to look at it!"
Locals began coming up with their own theories for the dramatic change to the beauty spot, from sewage to the tide.
Others shared more outlandish theories.
"Must have been a lot of dodgy (tikka masala) kebabs in Rhyl,” said one man. Another wondered if Donald Trump had taken a dip following his recent trip to the UK.
Several people suggested the water was discoloured by riverbank landslips – on social media there were unconfirmed reports of these near Bala and Bangor-on-Dee.
Others believe iron ore deposits were washed down the river in recent heavy rain. “Iron exposed to oxygen forms iron oxide makes the river turn orange,” said one person.
But Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the environmental regulator, confirmed the weather was responsible.
David Powell, duty manager for North Wales, said a red-orange “plume” was seen in the river two days after North Wales was hit by heavy rain, leaving parts of Wrexham swamped.
He said: “Following reports of red, cloudy water in the River Dee in the Chester area on Saturday, we can confirm the discolouration was caused by heavy localised rainfall in various parts of the River Dee catchment on May 11.
"NRW officers have been monitoring the plume.”
