A strange black liquid is oozing onto a north west beach, and nobody is sure what it is

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A bizarre black goo has been seeping onto a north west beach, and experts are stumped over what it is. The dark and milky ooze was spotted flowing from a drain by concerned beachgoers in Merseyside, The pipe at the end of the Wirral Watersports Centre car park off South Parade, West Kirby releases surface water and occasionally sewage.

According to the Liverpool Echo, bathing water quality ratings had dropped for three Wirral beaches with West Kirby now only considered to be "sufficient." The Environment Agency believes sewage discharges into the Mersey or off the north west coast is a minor contributor to West Kirby's problems with limited DNA analysis suggesting sewage was a minor contributor compared to agricultural run-off or sea birds.

However it is considered to be too early to tell for certain. Speaking about the black discharge, Hilary Hart from Clean Mersey said: "We do not know what it is.

What we are concerned about is we have flagged areas that we consider are contaminated but nobody [except United Utilities] seems to be particularly worried about them.