Residue from Padstow cliff-fall lorry 'contained'

The driver escaped unhurt from the lorry that was carrying bitumen and diesel

Residue that spilt from a lorry that went over the edge of a cliff has been "largely contained", clean-up staff have said.

The vehicle carrying 2,500 litres (550 gallons) of diesel and bitumen crashed in Padstow, Cornwall on Friday.

The driver was not injured and the vehicle was recovered the next day.

The Environment Agency said "small amounts of oily residue" was visible in the Camel Estuary but there was "no impact" on nearby beaches.

The spill had been contained within booms that were put out to prevent its spread, it added.

It is continuing to monitor the situation with the spill response contractors.

Cornwall Council's civil engineering firm, Cormac, said the 7.5-tonne lorry, which crashed at St Saviour's Point, near Padstow, was one of its subcontractor's road-surfacing vehicles carrying "non-hazardous liquid bitumen".

A barge and pontoons were used in recovery and residue containment work

It said on Tuesday that "the final phase of a clean-up operation ... was under way" after the vehicle was recovered on Saturday in an operation involving a barge.

The Environment Agency said there was "no impact on nearby bathing waters at Daymer Bay" and it was to "continue to regularly monitor water quality at nearby bathing beaches as normal".

It added: "While small amounts of oily residue are being seen in the water at the incident site, these are largely contained within the booms put in place by spill response contractors and we will work closely with them to ensure these booms provide protection for the estuary from any further impacts of the pollution".

St Saviour's Point is just to the north of Padstow, opposite the village of Rock and lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The incident happened at St Saviours Point, near Padstow