Anglian Water says that the discoloration of the River Gipping flowing through Stowmarket last week was caused by industrial waste.

The water company attended the scene last Friday after reports of a suspected sewage spill, identifying debris from a nearby building site as the culprit.

A blocked pipe was also found during a site visit, though this was a separate issue on the Gipping, which runs through mid Suffolk.

The blocked pipe, which was caused by unflushable materials, has now been cleared.

Anglian Water has now confirmed the yellow-brown discolouration that was reported by several people living in Stowmarket was not sewage and was instead from industrial waste.

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “Our teams investigated discolouration on the River Gipping on Friday (12 April), and found that it was caused by run off of debris from a nearby building site.

"While investigating this discolouration, we’ve also found and fixed a blockage on our network, which was caused by unflushable material, such as wet wipes, tampons and cooking fats.

“We cleared 40,000 blockages last year and the vast majority of which are completely avoidable.

"Blockages cause 80% of flooding and pollution incidents, and also cost us around £19million a year to remove. Only three Ps should go down the toilet – pee, poo and (toilet) paper.”