A FUEL company was investigated by the Environment Agency following accusations that oil had leaked into a watercourse in a protected area.

Certas Energy, which has a depot in Burwash Road, Heathfield, came under scrutiny for what an anonymous source said was a large oil burn on a grass slope leading to a drain hole.

The source told The Argus it had been there for many months but was getting worse.

The company’s site is an area zoned for commercial use, although it is within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Argus was told that the leak originated from an incident last November in which a tree fractured a pipe during a storm.

The source told The Argus it had not been fixed yet because of cost. The Environment Agency was informed by the source. Wealden District Council, the local authority, was unaware until an Argus inquiry.

A spokeswoman for Certas Energy said: “The company can confirm that some minor damage was caused to a surface-water interceptor on one of the storage tank bunds at its Heathfield depot.

“The interceptor is still fully functional and continues to perform the oil separation task as it’s designed to do.

“As a company, Certas Energy works closely with all of the relevant authorities to ensure the premises on which it operates are compliant with the highest environmental standards.”

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “The site was having several issues with their oil interceptor, where some oily water had spilt from the top of the chamber on to surrounding land.

“We have investigated and there are no signs of pollution in the nearby watercourses.

“We are working with the manager, who is keeping us informed of the progress of fixing the oil separator, test results from the boreholes to determine the depth of land contamination and contaminated soil removal.”

Residents can report pollution to the agency’s 24-hour hotline on 0800 807060.