Seven Trent Water has trialled a fresh way to treat sewage quicker and cheaper at its treatment works in Newent.

The three-month trial involved sewage been processed through an additional tank containing thousands of plastic discs.

Described as "roughly the size of sporting medals", the discs have a sponge-like texture and are full of holes to provide bacteria-hungry bugs the perfect platform to strip away ammonia and turn it into harmless gases.

The discs provide the bugs with a greater surface area to attach to which exposes them to more waste water, speeding up the process and reducing the required space.

Project engineer Lewis McGregor said: "We introduced these sponge-like discs around three months ago and the results have been fantastic.

"The discs give our bugs a greater chance to react with the wastewater, which means more can be treated in a shorter time, using less space.

"We believe it could make the process of treating sewage much more cost effective and reduce the size of treatment works in the future, which is a great outcome for everyone."

Encouraging results from the trial could see the trial rolled out to other sites.