Whirlpool appears in sea off coast of Scotland

Images show rotating mass of water near western shore

A whirpool has formed off the Scottish coast caused by waste water flowing into the sea.

Officials confirmed the event was linked to the impact of recent rainfall on a local landfill site.

Drone images captured the whirlpool near, Lendalfoot in South Ayrshire, on the western coast of Scotland.

Paul Young, a 46-year-old accountant, took the images on Sunday, which showed a rotating mass of water not far from the shore.

He posted on social media to see if anyone could explain the phenomenon, which he said he assumed was a riptide and looked like a whirlpool.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has said it was linked to events at a nearby landfill site.

It was down to rainwater that comes into contact with wastewater and gets pumped out to sea, the organisation said.

A spokesperson for the environmental agency said: “SEPA is aware of reports of a visible upwelling off the coast at Lendalfoot, South Ayrshire, on Sunday 31 October.

“This is a routine permitted discharge of treated landfill leachate from Straid Farm Landfill.”

The whirlpool was linked to leachate - rainwater that has mixed with waste within a landfill - which gets treated and then discharged, the SEPA spokesperson said.

“Given the heavy and sustained rainfall over the last couple of weeks there has been an increased volume of leachate needing to be treated and discharged,” they added.

“This will have resulted in a prolonged discharge and more noticeable visual impact than normal.”

Additional reporting by agencies