WATER chiefs have ruled themselves out as mystery surrounds who removed an Irish word from a water main cover in Ballymena.
Northern Ireland Water said it did not scrape off the letters uisce - Irish for water.
The local council already said their officials were not involved and now Northern Ireland Water has added: "NI Water can confirm it did not authorise the removal of the Irish word from the lid".
A controversy had blown up in recent weeks when the Irish word for water - uisce - appeared on Wellington Street, one of the busiest streets in the mainly unionist County Antrim town.
Northern Ireland Water said the cover may have been used by mistake.
"There are a number of reasons for this lid being put in place," said a spokeswoman.
"It may have been put on in error by the contractor who works on a number of contracts throughout Ireland, or it may have been damaged and replaced by a third party during the follow up.
"Irrespective of the origins of the lid, NI Water are content both types of cover used are within the specification required by NI Water and are safe to use within footpath areas."
