Trust closes oil spillage beach
A beach contaminated by an oil spillage from a rig in the Irish Sea has been closed to the public.
The beach has been closed
The National Trust said the mile-long stretch near Formby Point, Merseyside, would be closed until further notice while the clean up continued.
Crude oil was released from the Lennox platform, about five miles from Ainsdale, at the weekend.
Droplets of oil were found on the beach about a mile north of Formby Point by an incident response team from the rig.
A National Trust spokeswoman said: "The spill has come ashore in patches along the coast. It appears as dark brown sand in a band approximately 30cm in width.
Crude oil
"If trodden on, black crude oil then appears underfoot."
She said not enough oil had been spilled to cause danger to wildlife or vegetation.
It was being scooped into bin bags and taken to a collection point where it will be held safely until Tuesday when skips will remove it for disposal.
The spokeswoman said the clean up was expected to last two days and would depend on whether oil continued to be washed ashore by the high spring tides.
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