Environmental officials in China are campaigning to reduce pollution in the Yangtze river which is threatening public health and affecting the operation of a power plant.

The official China Daily newspaper said one-hundred million tonnes of sewage were dumped into the Yangtze by ships every year, and it was plagued with rubbish of every conceivable kind.

It also blames factories and restaurants for dumping waste, and says many ports along the river lack facilities to dispose of rubbish.

The campaign is calling on everyone who uses the Yangtze to stop treating the river like a rubbish dump.