Mystery deepening over dried-up well

The mystery surrounding a landmark well that has run dry in a Shropshire town has deepened.

People of Cleobury Mortimer have been struggling to understand why the water source, known as The Wells, in the centre of the town has dried up. Experts claimed the flow of water had been affected by deep drilling work carried out on a nearby county business resource centre.

They said it diverted the course of water underground from the natural spring which serves the well.

But contractors working on the Shropshire Council development have failed to find any traces of water in their excavations.

For centuries the fast-flowing well provided the town's only supply of water.

It originated in an underground spring that developed as rainwater seeped through the sandstone surrounding the town. For many years it was a place where travellers would stop to rest and water horses on journeys across the country.

A report in Shropshire Council Archives says: "Local people used to fill jugs and pitchers, animals drank there and ducks swam."

Legend has it that the purity of the water resulted in the good health of the town, and although, historically, there is no record of it being a holy well, townspeople claimed there must be a religious link because of its close proximity to the Saint Mary The Virgin Church.

However, about 70 years ago it was considered that residue from gravestones in the churchyard next to the well, could pollute the water so another source of supply was found from a utility company.

But the water continued to flow until it suddenly dried up last month.

Townspeople have been speculating about the cause of the disappearing water since then.

Neville Weaver said he remembered when traces of chlorine leaked into The Wells from the former swimming pool at nearby Lacon Childe School.

Publisher Jim Reynolds said: "There is no end of speculation but no comment from an authoritative source. People in the town have never known such a thing especially with all the recent rain."

Concerned townspeople are now hoping that experts from either the local authority or Severn Trent Water will set up an official investigation.