10:35am Tuesday 30th June 2009
A LABOUR councillor is calling for legal action against those responsible for polluting a river.
Lewisham councillor Alan Hall is urging the Environment Agency to prosecute the people who spilt red diesel into the River Pool, in Bellingham, on June 9.
The slick stretched for more than a mile down into the River Ravensbourne, which flows through both Lewisham and Greenwich boroughs.
Lewisham Council and the Environment Agency were on site quickly to minimise the impact of the spill and heavy rain has flushed much of the red diesel out of the river.
However, this has left pollution higher up the river bank as the water level was raised.
Cllr Hall said: “Local residents have spent many hours clearing and improving the habitat in and around the River Pool.
“Polluting the river with red diesel is a crime and I want the Environment Agency to seek and prosecute the eco criminals responsible.”
The spill happened just two days after volunteers from environmental groups in the area, including Thames21, finished helping clear Himalayan Balsam weed from the rivers Ravensbourne, Pool and Quaggy.
No dead fish were recorded, but Lewisham Council’s wildlife team pulled birds from the river which had been badly affected by the slick.
Environment management team leader James Liney said: “We are very grateful to everyone who got in touch with us to alert us to this issue.
“Members of the public are our eyes and ears on the ground, and it is vital that anyone who sees this sort of thing contacts us on our hotline so that we can assess the environmental impact and take appropriate measures to reduce it if possible.”
An Environment Agency spokesman says those responsible for the slick are being investigating.
Members of the public can report pollution incidents by calling the Environment Agency’s emergency hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
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