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Thousands of plastic filters have appeared on an Aberdeenshire beach after flooding washed them into the sea from a waste water treatment plant.

The Turning the Plastic Tide project said it had removed more than 2,400 of the devices from a 600m (1,969ft) stretch of shoreline at Newburgh.

It said Scottish Water and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had been alerted to the incident.

Scottish Water said its waste water plant at near Ellon had been "overwhelmed" by a river during recent heavy rain.

A spokesman said: “A team is working today to clean up on the affected section of beach.

"The waste water treatment works has returned to normal operation – and the cause of the incident is being investigated in order to minimise the risk of recurrence.��

“We would like to apologise for the concern caused and are doing all we can to minimise any lasting impact on the environment.”

Sepa said it was liaising with Scottish Water on its clean-up.

A spokeswoman said: “Members of the public should not handle the plastic media, as they are used to provide a substrate for the growth of bacteria as part of the treatment process."