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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Iona Young

East Lothian school kids create 'touching' cards for wildlife after large petrol leak in River Esk

East Lothian school kids have created 'touching' cards for the wildlife in the River Esk after a large petrol leak that SEPA and East Lothian Council continue to monitor.

The caring youngsters from local schools created the colourful 'Get Well Soon' cards for the swans and other wildlife that have been affected by the polluted river.

The heart-warming video shows a number of bright hand-drawn cards tied to the gates down at the River Esk many featuring adorable drawings of swans.

The cards appear to be from Musselburgh Burgh Primary School primary one's and have touched the community at this concerning time.

READ MORE: Heartbreaking East Lothian footage shows swans swimming through 'petrol' in river

READ MORE: Polluted East Lothian river clean up continues as tanker brought in to remove waste

One local said the youngsters also brought down some peas and sweetcorn for the swans after it was recommended by the SSPCA to keep their sugar levels up.

Photographer Chris London shared the clip captioned: "Just seen these get well soon messages from local kids down at the Esk. Quite touching."

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Janice Burr said: "Well done! How lovely. Saw these children down on the Esk this morning with their little clipboards. So thoughtful of a teacher to do this."

Joan Richardson gushed: "Awww lovely."

While Susan Stevens added: "I saw that today and thought it was lovely. A great way of teaching the young kids the importance of looking after their environment."

Locals in Musselburgh first noticed the strong smell of petrol nearly a week ago and a number of concerned residents contacted the council after seeing a multicoloured glaze across the surface of the water that swans and other birds were swimming through.

Now pet owners have been warned to keep dogs out of the River Esk as wildlife rescuers continue to monitor swans and geese in water with several taken away for treatment.

The Esk is a popular home to swans and geese and several birds have been taken to the Scottish SPCA wildlife centre for treatment after becoming covered in the contamination.

Environment agency SEPA has urged anyone with information about the spill, which has been traced to a manhole which leaked contaminated materials into the water, to contact Crimestoppers as the investigation into the incident continues.

The council said that while the tanker would remove as much of the leaked material as possible it was likely evidence of the pollution would remain in the water.

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