Thurso High School heating oil leak pollutes river

The leak at Thurso High School was discovered last week

A Highland river has been polluted by heating oil that had leaked from a nearby school.

The oil escaped from a storage tank at Thurso High School and was washed through drains by heavy rain into the River Thurso.

Highland Council said the leak had been stopped.

But the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has asked dog owners to prevent their pets from going into, or drinking, the river water.

It said the impact on the environment was "minor" and likely to be short-lived.

Highland Council is working with specialist contractors to clean up the oil.

The leak was found last week and has closed the school's games hall because some of the oil has gone under the building.

It has also resulted in a smell in parts of the town.

'Awful sight'

Economy and infrastructure committee chairman Ken Gowans said Highland Council was working hard with others to resolve the situation.

Sepa said residual oil in the surface water drainage system was likely to cause an odour for some time.

A spokesperson added: "Due to the heavy rainfall some of the oil which remained in the system has washed through at greater quantities.

"Oil spill contractors in liaison with Sepa are working to mitigate the impacts to the River Thurso."

Local councillor Matthew Reiss said he was pleased action was being taken to tackle contamination.

But he said it was believed about 3,000 litres of heating oil had leaked out.

He said: "It was an awful sight and smell when I was down at the river yesterday morning seeing the oil running through the beautiful river, which is home to otters, salmon, trout and a huge amount of wildfowl."