EXPERTS claim they are close to ending a pollution problem which has blighted an east Cleveland beck for nearly ten years.

A team of University of Teesside researchers say they are close to finding a solution after identifying a way of pumping and treating the minewater to tackle the pollution seeping from old ironstone mine workings at Saltburn Gill.

The Clean Environment Management Centre (CLEMANCE) team believes an existing shaft or a new borehole, could drain away the polluted water instead of letting it coming to the surface in the Saltburn Gill Nature Reserve, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its ancient woodland.

The pollution problem began in May 1999, when a new discharge from abandoned ironstone mine workings turned the beck a rust colour, raising concerns for the health of the Saltburn Gill Beck, which runs into Skelton Beck through Valley Gardens Park and on to the beach.

The water is not toxic but contains high levels of dissolved iron. Nearly half a tonne of iron ochre is deposited on the stream bed every day, smothering it so wildlife struggles to survive.

The Environment Agency, Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council, Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and the Saltburn Gill Action Group (SGAG) have all bee working together to find a solution.

The Environment Agency has secured £35,000 to follow up recommendations from the feasibility study.

Dr Richard Lord, CLEMANCE's Reader in Environmental Geochemistry and Sustainability, said: "Drilling a borehole nearby to pump the water from the underground workings, will allow it to be treated and discharged back into the beck.

"That way we could make sure that it does not leak out untreated close to the Saltburn Gill nature reserve. We are hopeful that we are nearing a solution to this difficult problem at last."

Environment Agency officer, Don Mason, said: "Saltburn has inherited problems caused by its industrial past, and this could have consequences for the environment in the future.

"The ochre from the minewater is smothering the aquatic wildlife in the beck which has impact on larger creatures like birds who rely on them for food."