A HIGHLAND beauty spot has turned into a "disgusting mess of grey sludge" following the recent heatwave in Scotland.
Emergency work is being carried out after the Dell of Spey, a water feature located in the heart of Aviemore, was overcome with pollution, the Strathspey & Badenoch Herald reports.
Locals took to the Aviemore & Spey Valley Community Issues Forum on Facebook to express their frustration, sharing images of the sludge.
And another local wrote: "This must be stinky with this heat. Not really a good impression of the town in the busy tourist season."
Several members also said that the "grey sludge" appeared to go "all the way down the burn to the Spey", adding that it was "disgusting".
A spokesperson for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), the environment watchdog, told the paper: "Sepa were made aware of this issue on Wednesday, July 9th and reported it to Scottish Water to investigate and check their sewage network.
"Scottish Water found a choke in one of the sewage chambers which had been created by fats, oils and greases.
"Scottish Water have been in attendance multiple times last week and over the weekend to clear the choke."
The spokesperson added that when they contacted Scottish Water on Sunday, "they confirmed there was a clean up operation in progress and they would continue to provide updates".
They continued: "Scottish Water are investigating to try and identify the location of where the fats, oils and grease had been put into the sewage network."
The Dell of Spey was built in 1997. Water is pumped through it from a natural feed known as the Butcher's Burn.
In 2019, it stopped being operational and fell into disrepair, before being restored in 2023, funded through Highland Council's revenue budget.
