Pollution fears after tankers stolen

FEARS have been raised that more than 26,000 gallons of contaminated water siphoned off after a blaze at a hazardous waste plant could end up in water courses following the theft of four tankers being used to store the dirty liquid.

A huge blaze ripped through BCB Environmental Services' chemical storage and recycling plant at Marston Business Park, Tockwith, in August.

Specialists from the Environment Agency dammed nearby Fleet Beck, a tributary of the River Nidd. Several fish were found dead but the agency subsequently announced only a small amount of contaminated water had entered the beck.

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North Yorkshire Police revealed yesterday that four road tankers holding contaminated water collected from the scene of the blaze had been stolen from Marston Moor Business Park between 4pm on Friday and 8am on Monday.

Each of the tankers contains 30,000 litres (6,559 gallons) of contaminated water which was being stored in a secure compound before treatment.

Pc Andrew Budimir, of the Harrogate Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: "The theft of the trailers will have required the use of a separate cab.

"If anyone saw one being driven in the area or saw anybody acting in a suspicious manner at the time I would ask them to contact me as soon as possible."

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EA environment management team leader Peter Stevenson said: "If the thieves are planning to sell on the tankers they would be looking to dump the contents, perhaps down a drain or into a watercourse. We would urge anyone who has seen any such suspicious activity to alert the police or call our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Pc Budimir on 0845 60 60 24 7 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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