Oil slick strikes Sussex (From The Argus)

Oil slick strikes Sussex

4:14pm Thursday 19th February 2009 in

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GALLONS of central heating oil has spilled into a river causing a six mile slick.

The alarm was raised by members of the public who spotted a coloured sheen on the River Ouse between Newick and Maresfield.

Officers from the Environment Agency were at the scene for most of yesterday (thurs) to contain the spill.

No dead fish or other river life had been discovered by last night.

The agency will be staying on the site to try and minimise the damage and are still trying to find the source of the spill.

Surveys of the affected stretch of river will take place over the coming weeks to assess the impact of any ecological impact.

An agency spokesman said: “Due to our prompt efforts the impact of the pollution on the environmentally sensitive River Ouse has been greatly reduced.

"We are very grateful to the public who alerted us to this incident, as this meant we could respond quickly."