Diesel spill in the River Severn near Bridgnorth prompts investigation
Experts from the Environment Agency are investigating the cause of diesel flowing in the River Severn near Bridgnorth.
The EA said it received reports of diesel in the river from concerned members of the public whom it has thanked for their reports.
A spokesman for the agency said: "We received a number of reports of diesel in the River Severn on Saturday March 19 downstream of Bridgnorth.
"Officers attended the site and followed the flow of diesel to an outlet pipe near Bridgnorth. Officers placed bungs at the outlet to stop any further diesel entering the river."
Experts worked with Severn Trent Water and Shropshire Council to find the source of the pollution, which was stopped and cleared.
In terms of any potential damage the EA spokesman said: "We are unable to ascertain the amount of diesel that went into the river but visual inspections did not show any signs of environmental damage. The diesel will dissipate as it flows downstream to the sea."
The spokesman added: "We would like to thank those members of the public who reported it. Our incident hotline is 0800 807060 and open 24 hours a day."
The Environment Agency Midlands deployed booms to stop any more of the fuel from entering the river and said that they do not expect any impacts from incident.
The agency tweeted on Saturday: "We’ve been investing (sic) the cause of diesel in the #RiverSever (sic) near #Bridgnorth today.
"We’ve deployed booms to help stop any more entering the river while we find the cause.
"Although it can look alarming we do not expect any environmental impacts."
The EA also posted photos on Twitter showing its team on site, a picture of diesel on the water surface, and the effect of the booms in containing the diesel spill.
