Shell 'warned Nigeria pipeline could leak before spills'

Oil firm Royal Dutch Shell was told a pipeline had reached the end of its life years before it spilled up to 500,000 barrels of oil, according to court documents seen by the BBC.

The company is being sued in London by a group including farmers and fishermen, following two spills in 2008 which they say affected about 35 sq miles (90 sq km) of land in southern Nigeria.

Shell says the leaks were caused by sabotage and people trying to steal from the pipeline, as Philip Hampsheir reports.