Hundreds of litres of ink that spilled onto a Shropshire road is being blamed for turning a river red.

Witnesses said the River Tern looked like a “river of blood” yesterday evening. Environment Agency and county council staff were due at the river today to investigate.

About 600 litres of red ink covered parts of the A53 and A41, near Market Drayton, yesterday.

It was part of a load of 1,000 litres being transported in a plastic container, which ruptured. David Underwood, 17, a student at Adams College in Wem, saw the river had turned red near his home in Woollerton last night.

He said: “It seemed to be from about Tern Hill down to, I presume, as far as Peplow, maybe more. It’s probably gone farther than that. It was red, like a river of blood.”

Ben Ashmore, of the Environment Agency, said: “We were made aware of the spillage yesterday, however we were told it hadn’t reached the water course.

“However, we received reports during the night it had gone into the River Tern, so our officers are going out to have a look.”

Ian Walshaw, the county council’s acting assistant divisional surveyor, said: “We have been informed this ink is water-based and should not pose a significant threat.”

The main road affected was the A53 from the Staffordshire border to Tern Hill, and a small stretch of the A41 going south on the Whitchurch Road. The container burst in Staffordshire, about a mile from the Shropshire border. Red ink was still vi- sible this morning on the roads.