A bright pink glow in the Merseyside sky, thought to be a bizarre natural phenomenon, is actually caused by tomato production, it has been revealed.
The shocking pink shimmer, which could be seen from Southport, Formby and Kirkby, near Liverpool, has been the source of much speculation in recent months.
But earlier this week the Liverpool Echo revealed that the light was emanating from a tomato plant run by Flavourfresh Salads in Scarisbrick, 16 miles north of Liverpool.
The glasshouse facility uses a mixture of blue and red LED lights, which when combined glow pink.
Andy Liggat, the salad producer’s nursery manager, told the Liverpool Echo that, although the lights are turned on every night, there are only certain times of day at which people can see the sky change colour from a distance.
“The reason you get the beautiful coloured sky is because of the weather,” he said.
“If you get a nice clear night you won’t see it, but if it is misty, raining or foggy, the LED lights will shine on the cloud and that is what gives it that glow.
“If you woke up at 5am and it was a nice clear morning you may see a tint of it but if you woke up to fog and looked, you would be like wow.”
