Environmental Nightmare - River Algar in danger from 'Jacinto'

That's the official term applied by experts to a South American aquatic plant also known as jacinto which has just been found in the River Algar in Altea.

Opposition politicians say that they have warned the council about the dire consequences of its presence - serious problems in the environmental balance including contaminated drinking water, floods, and a proliferation of insects and bacteria - so that the council can eradicate it before it takes hold.

They say that something must be done very quickly as the River Algar has a particularly rich, but particularly fragile ecosystem which should be preserved at all costs, and we at Spotlight echo their sentiments.

18 September 2004 Stephen White.