Firefighters and Natural Resources Wales were called out as 30 litres of oil was spilled along the River Banwy in Llanfair Caereinion.

As a street of houses in Llanfair Caereinion reported a strong smell of oil in the area, Mid and West Wales Fire Service crews from Newtown and Llanfair were called to a stretch of the River Banwy by Bridge Street.

Crews waded into the river to deal with a spillage of approximately 30 litres of oil from a tanker, with some of the oil entering the water.

Fire crews arrived at the scene on Saturday, June 1, at 1.25pm.

A spokesperson for Mid and West Wales Fire Service said: “Crews utilised absorbent mats to contain any further contamination of the water course.

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“Four members of the wading team entered the water to deploy absorbents under the supervision of the HAZMAT team.”

Fire crews left the scene at 4.21pm, while a reinspection of the area was carried out on Monday, June 3.

David Lee, North Powys Environment Team Leader for Natural Resources Wales said: “On Friday, 31 May, we received a report of an oil spill in a culvert feeding into the River Banwy at Llanfair Caereinion.

County Times: Firefighters under a bridge in Llanfair dealing with an oil spill in the River Banwy.

“Our officers visited the site, assessed the situation and took samples. Our officers identified the source of pollution as heating oil lost from a domestic tank and ensured that the flow of oil was stopped.

 “We requested support from the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service who deployed their Hazardous Materials Unit. The Fire and Rescue Service officers used pads and booms to soak up the heating oil entering the Banwy. They will remain in place until we are confident that that there is no more contamination entering the Banwy.

“Our investigation is still ongoing and we will consider any further steps in line with our Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

County Times: Overhead of firefighters cleaning up the oil spill along the River Banwy.

“We urge oil tank owners to inspect their tanks regularly to make sure that they are in good condition.

"Leaks from these tanks can be very damaging to the environment.

 “Fuel loss is an expensive problem for homeowners too; leaving them to foot the bill of replacing oil and potentially having to pay thousands of pounds to clean up an oil spill.”