DETAILS have 'emerged' about the mystery of a car spotted in the river at a Bradford park.
Although the vehicle has only just been removed, the story 'surfaced' after emergency services were called last week to Roberts Park in Saltaire to reports of a car discovered just below the weir next to the playground.
A spokesperson from Shipley Fire Station said: "The car's wheel was sticking up and people could see it because the water levels in the River Aire had dropped so low."
It was initially thought the car had been in the river for 18 months, but the T&A can now reveal that the car had likely been in the river since the Boxing Day floods of 2015.
"I think it possibly had been in the river since Boxing Day in 2015," said Simon Watts, community engagement manager at the Aire Rivers Trust.
"It was not been in that position the whole time, but we believe the winter waters had moved it.
"We're not sure where it initially went into the river, but it would have been in the Bradford area."
READ MORE: Emergency services called after car spotted in river at Bradford park
Mr Watts said trust volunteers remove items from the river, but items bigger than a washing machine are too large for volunteers to remove.
He said: "We removed more than 50 washing machines all scattered from Baildon downstream over a period of a year after the Boxing Day floods in 2015, but anything bigger than that we look for the Council to help us. Vehicles have oil in them, so you have to careful."
Mr Watts said the Aire Rivers Trust was first made aware of the car in April after river levels had dropped.
"I know there were some concerns about pollution risk because of sediment in it, but we've been keen for the Environment Agency to remove it.
"It's my understanding that responsibility fell to Bradford Council as it was not deemed to be a flood risk and was not blocking the channel."
A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “The car appeared to have been in the river many years.
“We believe it had been washed downstream during floods but had recently become visible due to low river levels."
The Environment Agency said the car did not pose a risk to the environment, but the council removed the vehicle from the river this morning.
The car has drawn interest from onlookers across the community, including a student at Shipley College, who recently took some pictures of it for a photography course.
Emily King said: "We were on an excursion of the area to take photos in different places.
"Our final stop was down by the River Aire in Roberts Park when I was drawn immediately to the car in the river and had to get a couple of snaps."
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