A MULTI-million pound investment programme has led to the river Clyde being cleaner attracting wildlife and fish stocks back to the waters the Government has said.

Roseanna Cunningham, Environment Secretary said the cash has helped reduce pollution and restore habitats.

SEPA the environmental watchdog has said the Clyde is now cleaner than they expected given years of pollution and waste entering the water.

Ms Cunningham said over ten years a total of £600m will have been invested in the clean up operation.

She visited the Clyde at Dalmarnock to see the effects.

Ms Cunningham said: ““The Clyde flows through the very heart of Glasgow and for centuries the river has provided our largest city with a gateway to the world and a source of prosperity.

“However, since industrialisation in the early 1800s, we’ve abused this river, tipping our waste into it without a second thought for the impact it has on the communities living along the banks, water quality or the wider environment.

“That’s why I am delighted to see further evidence that we have secured a lasting change in the Clyde’s fortunes. “

Stretches of The River Clyde are now categorised as “excellent” quality with the overall river quality improving from “bad” to “moderate”.

Ms Cunninghams said the waork ahs also inproved the lives of people living alongside the river.

She added: “That hard work and investment has seen water quality improve, aquatic species return to the waters, and an end to the stench which once made residents’ lives a misery. “

She said there will be further work carried out to continue the improvements.

Bob Downes, SEPA chairman said the work has also opened up stretches of rivers that migratory fish have been unable to access for decades.