'Progress' made on oil polluted Nant Pibwr river, Valero says

A boom collects leaked oil on Nant Pibwr

About 60,000 litres of oil has been recovered from a Carmarthenshire river following a major leak on Tuesday.

Up to 100,000 litres of kerosene entered Nant Pibwr as a result of a breach of the main pipeline under the A48 near Carmarthen.

The pipeline carries aviation fuel and diesel from Pembroke's Valero refinery.

Valero said teams had made "good progress" in recovering the product, but was unable to confirm the cause of the leak at this stage.

Dead fish, included protected species, have been found and farmers have had to move their cattle away from the river.

Welsh Water has said there is no impact on their drinking water supplies.

A Valero spokesperson said booms remain in place on Nant Pibwr to recover the oil.

"One site continues to capture leaked oil, another has only very small amounts remaining and should be clear soon, while two further sites are now clear of oil," they said.

"We are working to gain access to the affected section of pipeline, but this is a complex operation and it may be several days before this happens."

Teams from Valero and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) will remain on site over the weekend.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said government officials were in regular contact with NRW senior officers to ensure the response is being "properly managed and resourced."

Rural Affairs Secretary Lesley Griffiths is due to visit the site on Saturday.