River Mimram turns PURPLE with pollution, hours after environment ministers ...

River Mimram in Hertfordshire turned purple with pollution, just hours after environment ministers posed in front of it over plans to restore rare chalk streams.

When environment Minister, Rebecca Pow and members of the Chalk Stream Restoration Group visited the river yesterday, it was a clear looking stream.

Not long after they left, the chalk stream, that runs through North Hertfordshire from Hertford, turned a shade of purple, according to pop star and clean river campaigner Feargal Sharkey, who shared an image of the stream on Twitter. 

Campaigners said this highlights the dire state of Britain's rivers, where 53 per cent are in a poor state, and only 14 per cent are in 'good ecological condition.'  

The Environment Agency said the river had already returned to normal when it returned to investigate, and found no evidence of any harm to fish from the incident.

They can't say what caused it to turn purple, but campaigners speculate it could be anything from an algae bloom to dyes seeping into water from industry.

Sharkey, who sang with the band The Undertones, took to Twitter, saying: 'Just hours after the great and the good were last seen using the River Mimram (a chalk stream) as a backdrop here what it looks like today. Polluted. It's turned purple.'

He added: 'So much for fine words and speeches all of it devoid of intent and delivering even less.' 

The 'great and the good,' as Sharkey called them, including Environment Minister Rebecca Pows, and chair of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd.

They were at the site to promote the launch of a campaign to clean up chalk streams, like the River Mimram and meet with members of the Chalk Stream Restoration Working Group.

This group has put forward a set of recommendations to protect and

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