Two videos appearing to show hydrochloric acid leaking from a tanker into the river at Great Yarmouth have circulated on social media, causing concern for local residents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLZKXzxsBPg&feature=youtu.be

The videos, taken by self-employed amusement worker Emil Gray, seemed to show a yellow, steaming liquid leaking from a tanker with the logo of local chemical distribution company ChemTek, who have offices in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, on the side.

In the videos, which were taken on August 25, 22-year-old Emil asks the tanker driver whether it is hydrochloric acid and says it smells 'eggy'. He then says that the acid is going into the river, however ChemTek have denied that this was the case.

'I was down at the quay, near the power station, at about quarter to six with my cousin, I was parked up by the harbour after leaving work, waiting to pick my girlfriend up from work nearby.' Emil, who lives in Gorleston, said.

'I saw the acid and it was coming straight from a pipe lying on the ground.

'I confronted the driver about it and he said 'it's not what it looks like'. I then started recording and he admitted it was what it said on the side of the lorry, hydrochloric acid.

'I was disgusted; it's a popular fishing spot as people can fish from the boots of their cars.'

However, general manager at ChemTek Jason Mathers said that the spill wasn't as bad as the videos made it seem.

'We're aware of a minor hydrochloric acid spill that happened last night at the industrial site at South Denes. It was contained and all the proper procedures were followed,' he said.

'We've seen the videos on Facebook and the puddle actually looks a lot larger than it was because of all the rain we had.

'The acid did not go into the river and the videos don't show that, we're on an industrial site so we have drains which go to a designated collection site, we're prepared for this kind of thing.

'However we are committed to safety, so of course we're investigating how this happened, but we're happy with the response of our staff.'

The Environment Agency is the authority responsible for investigating reports of alleged river pollution and undertaking any necessary enforcement or further action.

Their spokesperson said: 'We were made aware of the incident through social media on August 26 but did not have an exact location. Last night a report was made to our hotline and we now have more information. We are currently investigating the incident.

'To report any environmental incident, please call our 24-hour hotline on 0800 807080.'