More than £1million worth of whisky flooded into the ground after a major leak at a distillery.

An investigation was launched by safety experts and environment watchdogs after the huge alcohol spillage.

Around 60,000 litres ­disappeared – the equivalent of 85,000 regular bottles – from the Loch Lomond ­Distillers warehouse in Catrine, Ayrshire.

The loss was caused by an unnoticed leak in one of the company’s giant vats.

Most of the whisky simply drained into the ground, while the rest went into the local River Ayr.