Concern has been raised following a tip-off from an angler after a reservoir was contaminated.

A member of the local fishing community contacted the Herald after discovering pollution filtering down from Munnoch Reservoir, on the B780 Ardrossan to Dalry Road, to the River Irvine.

The resident was worried that silt had leaked during a weekend period and has now contaminated river beds where salmon are currently breeding, destroying the habitat around them.

Silt is a fine sand, clay, or other material carried by running water and deposited as a sediment on the river or sea bed.

The Herald approached Scottish Water, who are responsible for the reservoir, who confirmed a full silt tank had leaked into the water during the weekend of November 20 and 21.

"Although this will not impact drinking water, it may have a disastrous effect on the environment dependant on the water source as the silt pollutes the supply.

A Scottish Water spokesperson said: “A team is on site at Munnoch Reservoir dealing with an environmental issue, following the release of silt from reservoir into surrounding watercourses.

“Munnoch Reservoir has not been in use as drinking water supply for a number of years and we are currently preparing to partially decommission this asset next year.

“This will involve gradually lowering the levels of the reservoir, before breaching the dam and leaving a much smaller body of water.

“We believe this incident happened some time over the weekend.

"Following recent heavy rainfall it was required to release some of the water in the reservoir to protect the spillway and dam. An investigation is currently underway.

“We are working with SEPA to resolve this issue as soon as possible, and minimise the impact to the environment and fish population within the affected watercourses.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency said:

“SEPA has received reports of discolouration in the River Garnock.

"The source of the discolouration has stopped, SEPA officers have attended, and investigations are ongoing to assess any environmental impact.

“People can report any potential pollution incident to SEPA 24 hours a day at www.sepa.org.uk/report or by calling the SEPA Pollution Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”