‘Find source of foul-smelling contamination in horse’s field’
OWNER SAYS RED SUBSTANCE SHE DISCOVERED ON HER LAND IS ‘ACT OF CRIMINAL DAMAGE’
A HORSE owner was furious to discover a “foul-smelling, red mass” of a mysterious liquid flowing through her land.
Lisa Ringrose said she arrived at her field in Sileby Road, near Mountsorrel, to find a “very bad oily smell” on July 7, and and was shocked to see that a bright red stream of the liquid had settled in a ditch.
The Environmental Agency said it is still investigating the source of the pollution, thought to be oil or diesel, but so far has not identified the cause.
Lisa said: “When I got out my car I was horrified at the sight of a red mass of some sort of petrol in the ditch and stream.
“The rain was coming down so heavily and my field was flooding, with my horses stood in the substance.”
She contacted the Environmental Agency before transporting her animals off the land.
Lisa said: “I was so upset. I didn’t know what it was but it was flowing through my land, which runs down to Slash Lane.”
The following day, Lisa said she called the agency a second time to request staff inspect the land.
“I was informed it had been downgraded and now wasn’t classed as urgent,” she said.
Lisa sent photos of the contamination to the Environment Agency, which she said then attended within an hour.
She said pads were put in the ditch to soak up the contamination on her land and that several workers conducted a two-hour investigation.
Lisa said: “The following day, the agency came again to my field to change the pads on several occasions but I have been told the investigation has come to a dead end and it can’t be traced any further.
“I think it is of the utmost urgency to find out who is causing this contamination as the stream is running oily red and it will cause danger to wildlife, animals and motorists in the area. Also, it needs to be stopped.
“I was gutted as I needed answers to what this is in the water – not just a little bit but a huge amount which is going to cause major environmental damage. There is still a huge amount of this substance in the ditch, the water isn’t moving and its just stood still smelling.
“It is bright red.”
She said she can no longer graze her horses on the contaminated land and that the substance flooded her hay field, meaning she will need to source more hay for the horse over the winter.
“To me, this is an act of criminal damage and it has to have come from somewhere,” she said.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “This is an ongoing incident.
“We have had officers out each day following the report carrying out mitigation work including installing pads to contain the pollution and there has been no further spread.
“We are continuing investigations to identify the source of the spill.
“Anyone spotting an environmental incident can report it to us on 0800 807060, 24 hours a day.”