Answer for town's problem seaweed

Seaweed washed up on the shoreline causes a bad smell

Decomposing seaweed which has caused problems for an Angus seaside town's tourist industry should be used as fertiliser, an expert has claimed.

The recent spate of hot weather has caused the mass of seaweed at Arbroath's west links to putrefy, resulting in an unpleasant smell.

However, local biowaste scientist Richard Irvine said it could be composted and spread on crop land.

He warned that leaving the seaweed could create an environmental hazard.

Dr Irvine, based at Dundee's Abertay University, said: "Composting the seaweed would cleanse and stabilise the material, creating a nutrient and humus-rich, soil-like product ideal both for spreading on crop land and even sale to the general public as a soil improver."