THE River Irwell has been polluted for a second time as angry trustees witnessed "icebergs of foam" floating down Bury Weir.

Volunteers from the Mersey Basin Rivers Trust spotted the white foam and liquid last Thursday before following it upstream and finding the source close to Rossendale Water Treatment Works.

The Environment Agency has been contacted about the incident and an investigation is underway.

It is the second time in April the river has suffered from serious pollution, as just three weeks ago nearly all water life on a 25-mile stretch was killed after pesticide found its way into the river.

Mike Duddy, CEO of the Mersey Basin Rivers Trust, said: "The recovery of the River Irwell has been one of the biggest environmental recovery stories of the last 25 years — the river polluted so badly by the Industrial Revolution now holds the countries best stocks of brown trout and other fish which support Kingfishers, Otters and Dippers.

"This latest event is a massive set back for the river and all those who work so hard to bring these improvements about.

"We didn’t expect to see any dead or dying wildlife as there was very wildlife left surviving after the previous devastating event which took place only three weeks ago — where pesticide was poured down a drain, entered the river and killed nearly all water life for over 25 miles."

As there were barely any river life left after the first incident, no dead fish or insects have been reported.

The Trust said in its online statement that the pollution is coming from a waste water treatment works outfall into the river.

But it is believed the pollutant could have entered the sewage network upstream of the facility and is therefore not the fault of the water utilities company.

Any sightings of pollution should be reported to the Environment Agency via their emergency hotline 0800 807060.