Rock’s sand supply cut off in spat

GIBRALTAR/SPAIN

SPAIN banned trucks from taking sand into Gibraltar yesterday, fearing that the territory was seeking to extend its coastline.

The Civil Guard was ordered to stop the trucks after a prosecutor opened an investigation into claims by an environmental group that the sand had been taken illegally from dunes near Tarifa and sent to Sandy Bay, a tourist beach in the British territory.

A complaint lodged in court by Ecologists in Action in July also alleges that documents were falsified to conceal the origins of the sand. Tarifa Council is accused of ‘‘grievous theft’’.

The Gibraltarian Government condemned the decision to halt the trucks, which is the latest Spanish act in a diplomatic dispute over the Rock. ‘‘We will talk to our lawyers. This is clearly politically motivated,’’ a spokesman said.

Gibraltar said that it had paid a Dutch company, Van Oord, for 10,000 tonnes of sand but received less than 3000 tonnes.

The spokesman insisted that Gibraltar had no knowledge that the sand was being removed from Valdevaqueros beach, a protected area. It said the first batch of sand had been blown on to roads adjacent to Valdevaqueros and had been removed under licence.

Gibraltar said it had taken every step possible to ensure that sand from Spain had been legally extracted. Van Oord said that it had provided evidence that the extraction was licensed.

The Spanish Interior Ministry denied the move was politically motivated or linked to the diplomatic row. The latest turn in the dispute comes after Britain rebuffed an appeal by Spain to hold talks over sovereignty.

London has protested at strict border checks brought in by Madrid in response to the dropping of an artificial reef in the waters off Gibraltar in July, which angered Spanish fishermen.