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About
150,000 litres of fuel have contaminated soil close to the River
Kennet, just upstream from top public school Marlborough College,
pictured, in Wiltshire
Up
to 150,000 litres of fuel leaked into farmland in Marlborough after
thieves drilled through a major Esso pipeline. The attack on the
pipeline running through the estate of the late multi-millionaire Robert
Sangster in Manton happened on April 2, causing a high risk of an
explosion. News of the incident, in which a tapping device was used to
break into the pipeline 8ft underground, has only just emerged. It pumps
fuel from the Fawley Refinery in Hampshire to a distribution terminal
in Birmingham. A hose had been connected to the pipe, which carries a
range of fuels, and was then hidden with soil. It was disturbed by a
farmer, resulting in the leak. Esso does not yet know how much fuel has
leaked but says 150,000 litres would be the worst case scenario. A
spokesman said: "The pipeline was quickly repaired and has resumed
operation and there is no indication of any impact on human health as a
result of the leak. "We remain committed to resolving the situation
fully. At the moment we are trying to determine whether there has been a
leak and if there has, where the fuel has gone." A 500-metre safety
cordon was put into place while the scale of the incident was
established and people living nearby moved as a precaution. Wiltshire
Fire and Rescue Service fire engines, from Marlborough, Calne and
Devizes, together with an operational support unit and an incident
command vehicle from Swindon. A fire crew remained at the scene for 32
hours as a precaution. Police and the fire service said this week that
they didn't release details of the incident because they were acting on
behalf of the Wiltshire and Swindon Local Resilience Forum, a body
including fire, police and ambulance, Wiltshire Council and Public
Health England, and it was up to the forum to make the incident public.
Town councillors were sent an email marked confidential by town clerk
Shelley Parker giving brief details of the incident days afterwards. At a
full council meeting on Monday Carl Barber, the Marlborough fire crew
manager, told councillors: "It's extremely dangerous. That is an
extremely pressurised line at times and it can be a danger."It was
brought to our attention by the police as some was seen to be leaking
and it did take 32 hours and seven appliances because our attendance was
required while they isolated and dealt with the issue." Esso has
depressurised the pipeline to limit leaks. It says there is still a
quantity of diesel and petrol mixture in a hole approximately 1.4 metres
deep on the Manton estate. The firm contacted Action for the River
Kennet to identify suitable monitoring points along the river in case of
pollution. The Environment Agency is working with Public Health England
to evaluate the impact on water courses. An Environment Agency
spokesman said: "At present there is no impact to the River Kennet, but
we continue to monitor the situation closely." Police in Hampshire are
investigating a large quantity of diesel found in a large industrial
unit in East Wellow on April 17. It is believed that the tanks found
were being filled from a sophisticated system which had tapped into a
main fuel line. Two men, aged 32 and 34, from the Salisbury area, were
arrested on suspicion of conspiring to steal fuel. They are on bail
pending further inquiries. Detectives from Lyndhurst CID in Hampshire
are working with other police forces, including Wiltshire, as part of a
wider investigation into breaches of fuel lines in the south of England.
......
Thieves drill down 8ft into Esso pipeline - and spark major pollution alert at top fishing river
150,000 litres of fuel contaminated soil close to River Kennet in Wiltshire
Thieves drilled underground pipeline causing the leak near fishing spot
Attack on Esso refinery pipe believed to be first of its kind in Britain
Published: 19:22 EST, 10 May 2014 | Updated: 19:22 EST, 10 May 2014
Petrol
thieves have drilled into an underground pipeline and caused a leak of
thousands of litres of fuel next to a popular fishing river, sparking a
major environmental alert.
About
150,000 litres of fuel have contaminated soil close to the River
Kennet, just upstream from top public school Marlborough College in
Wiltshire.
Police are investigating the attack on the Esso refinery pipeline, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.
150,000 litres of fuel have contaminated soil close to the River Kennet, pictured, in Wiltshire
A
Wiltshire Police source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We’re used to fuel
being stolen from farms by rural criminals but this is quite a step
further. Two men have been detained in the Somerset area with a large
amount of illicit fuel but at this stage we don’t know if the two
incidents are linked.’
The
theft was from the Midline pipeline, which carries fuel from the Fawley
Refinery near Southampton to the Birmingham Fuels Terminal.
Weather due to improve over coming days, forecasters predict
British
prime minister David Cameron meets soldiers from the Royal Gurkha
Rifles, at a military command centre in Chertsey, southern England.
Photograph: Paul Hackett/Reuters
The
military could have been brought in earlier to help deal with the
winter storms that have been wracking Britain, a Government minister has
admitted.
As the weather finally gave the country
a respite, defence secretary Philip Hammond defended the government’s
handling of the crisis. He said Royal Engineers were now being tasked to
carry out a high-speed assessment of “serious” to damage the UK’s flood
defence infrastructure.
But Mr Hammond conceded
that in future the Government would involve the military earlier in the
process, and be more “aggressive” in urging local authorities to use
troops. Swathes of the UK remain on high alert as people battle to
protect their homes and communities from the floodwaters, which are
still expected to rise in places despite the break in the storms.
The
Environment Agency (EA) has 16 severe flood warnings in place for the
South West and the Thames Valley, with almost 150 flood warnings and 230
Gales,
huge waves and torrential rain are set to bring yet more misery to
swamped parts of the UK this weekend, overcoming defences, flooding
homes and causing travel chaos.
Lives
could be in danger in parts of the south-west and in the Midlands,
where the Environment Agency has issued nine severe flood warnings – its
highest level of alert.
The Cornwall and North Devon coasts are
expect to bear the brunt of the weather, along with the River Severn
near Gloucester, and 178 more flood warnings have been issued across
England and Wales.
Cobra, the government’s emergency committee, has met to address the issue amid growing calls for a permanent solution.
A
month of torrential downpours has seen some parts of England suffer the
wettest January since records began more than 100 years ago, and the
start of February is not looking promising.
In Pictures: Flooding around England
1 of 4
Kate
Marks, the Environment Agency’s flood risk manager, said: “A low
pressure system combining with high tides brings a risk of coastal
flooding to many parts of England over the weekend.
Lord Smith’s leadership of theEnvironment Agencyis in crisis following the flooding gripping parts of Britain.
Sources
have accused Lord Smith, a Cabinet minister in Tony Blair’s Labour
government, of “keeping his head down” despite parts of the country
being submerged for weeks.
Allegations
that he is “too distracted” by having too many jobs — in all Lord Smith
has 11 paid and unpaid posts — have added to the growing concern in
Whitehall.
Although he is due to step
down as chairman of the Environment Agency in June, a source said:
“There is no way he would get back in even if he wanted to reapply for
his post.”
Lord Smith has insisted the
agency is doing all it can in the face of the wettest January in
history and has pointed out that — unlike the North Sea floods of 1953
when more than 300 people died — lives have been protected through the
hard work of his staff.
However, the agency has faced severe
criticism, particularly over its alleged failure to dredge rivers on
the Somerset Levels. One local MP accused the body of failing to spend
its resources on flood defences and instead diverting millions of pounds
to bird sanctuaries.
Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater in
Somerset, said: “We’re just sick to death of it [flooding]. They [the
Environment Agency] need to dredge these rivers, stop spending money —
£31 million — on bird sanctuaries and spend £5 million, that's all we
want, to sort this out.
“What comes first is the humans. I’m afraid the birds will fly off elsewhere.”
The
Telegraph can also disclose that the Environment Agency undertook
detailed computer modelling on the impact of dredging in 2012, which
showed that dredging would have “significantly reduce[d] the duration
and depth of flooding” in the worst hit areas.
Residents of the
Somerset Levels piled further pressure on the agency after tests showed
stagnant flood water had left gardens “awash with unsafe bacteria”. Read More Here
A sign on the bridge over the River Parrett in Burrowbridge as flooding on the levels in Somerset continues. Photo: PA
It could well be the wettest January on Met Office record - previously set in 1948 when 176.8mm fell across England and Wales.
Around 163mm of rain had fallen by last night and with another active
system bringing more substantial rain on Friday and into Friday night,
that record could well be exceeded.
This would make it the wettest January since Met Office records began
in 1910 - and since historic weather records started way back in 1766!
Heavy
rains, large waves and strong winds wreaked havoc in Britain and
Ireland today, cancelling flights and sparking a "significant risk to
life" warning.
The worst of the weather was battering the Republic
of Ireland but gusts were expected to pick up across Wales and southern
parts of England during the day. The Environment Agency warned "extraordinary measures" may be taken in Gloucestershire today to keep back tidal and river floods.
Large waves caused by high winds and spring tides batter LahincIt
issued severe flood warnings - meaning there is an imminent danger to
life - for several parts of the county and the coasts of Cornwall and
north Devon.
Further warnings are in place along the length of the
River Severn amid fears it could burst its banks. It also warned the
risk of flooding could continue into next week.
Flood barriers have already been installed in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the water level rises.
Flooding in central Limerick, Ireland (pic: Sean Keogh/@Fame_For_Sale)A
statement issued by the agency said: "Gales, large waves and high tides
present a danger to life and are expected to result in overtopping of
sea walls and defences causing flooding to properties along with
disruption to travel.
"The risk of flooding will continue into
next week, with the Met Office forecasting further heavy rainfall across
southern England and Wales.
"This rain will fall in areas where ground water and river levels are already high, bringing an ongoing risk of flooding."
Lesser
warnings remain in place for many parts of Britain, including the
already blighted Somerset Levels and west Wales, where 49 flood warnings
and 15 alerts have been issued this morning.
Residents in Limerick paddle down the road in a boat. Pic: Anne Sheridan The Anchor Bleu in Bosham (pic Stephen Sumner)Tests for Sky News have found floodwater in Somerset, where the floods have persisted for weeks, contains 60 times the amount of safe bacteria for agricultural water.
In the Republic of Ireland, there were reports of severe flooding in Limerick City with the river Shannon bursting its banks.
With
gusts of almost 80mph in coastal areas of the country, several parts
were hit by flooding and at one stage 5,500 homes and properties were
left without power, 4,000 of them in Ennis, Co Clare.
Flights out
of Dublin airport were affected because of the gales force winds.
Flights to Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Cardiff, Paris and Madrid had
to be cancelled.
Isabel Webster, reporting from the River Parrett
in Burrowbridge, Somerset, tweeted at 8.30am: "High tide in Burrowbridge
this morning. It's just touching the sand bags."
Minutes later she tweeted: "Water is seeping through giant sandbags onto road beyond at high tide here in Burrowbridge." Read More Here
.....
Heavy
rains, large waves and strong winds wreaked havoc in Britain and
Ireland today, cancelling flights and sparking a 'significant risk to
life' warning.
The worst of the weather was battering the Republic
of Ireland but gusts were expected to pick up across Wales and southern
parts of England during the day.
The Environment Agency warned 'extraordinary measures' may be taken in Gloucestershire to keep back tidal and river floods.
It
issued severe flood warnings - meaning there is an imminent danger to
life - for several parts of the county and the coasts of Cornwall and
north Devon.
Further warnings are in place along the length of the
River Severn amid fears it could burst its banks. It also warned the
risk of flooding could continue into next week.
Flood barriers have already been installed in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the water level rises.
A
statement issued by the agency said: 'Gales, large waves and high tides
present a danger to life and are expected to result in overtopping of
sea walls and defences causing flooding to properties along with
disruption to travel.
'The risk of flooding will continue into
next week, with the Met Office forecasting further heavy rainfall across
southern England and Wales.
'This rain will fall in areas where ground water and river levels are already high, bringing an ongoing risk of flooding.'
Lesser
warnings remain in place for many parts of Britain, including the
already blighted Somerset Levels and west Wales, where 49 flood warnings
and 15 alerts have been issued this morning.
