A water company says “unknown strong chemicals” found at a treatment site have been contained.

Southern Water, which runs the wastewater works in Teynham, says the public was at no point at risk but investigations are ongoing.

The site does not deal with drinking water but people had raised concerns with Cllr Lloyd Bowen (Con), who represents Teynham and Lynsted, due to the number of tankers seen heading to the site.

He told KentOnline the villagers' fears came from “no one knowing what was going on”.

He added: “People's fears were growing because they did not know why there were so many tankers going through the village.

“There were fears that it could be detrimental to people’s health or that a leak could also harm the environment.”

Southern Water confirmed the “unknown” chemicals had been taken away in the tankers so they did not escape into the environment.

It says the problem has been resolved but investigations are still ongoing.

A spokesperson for Southern Water added: “Routine checks at our Teynham Wastewater Treatment Works identified unknown strong chemicals which had entered the site through our pipes.

“To protect the site and the effectiveness of our treatment processes, we used tankers to remove the impacted wastewater, so it could be taken to a larger site for extra processing.

"This action was successful and the site quickly returned to normal. Investigations are ongoing into the source of these chemicals."

Cllr Bowen added: “It is reassuring to know that it has been contained and no one was at risk however it is concerning that Southern Water don’t know what the chemicals were.

“Also how the chemicals got into the pipes is also of concern.”