Muck & mystery…

20 February 1998

Muck & mystery…

CUCUMBERS have proved that sheep grazed alongside the Ribble Estuary are not to blame for the sheep droppings regularly washed up on Blackpools beaches.

Last September, the Environment Agency launched 600 cucumbers into the Irish Sea to see if the currents would carry them towards Blackpool – providing clues as to where the sheep droppings originated.

But only one cucumber made it to Blackpool beach. The other 111 that were recovered were found washed up close to where they had been launched, letting the Ribble sheep off the hook.

With sheep alongside the Ribble Estuary now off the hook, the EA will now be looking further afield for the culprits.