Oil reflecting off the water
(Picture: @papyskele)A heron photographed covered in oil after fishing in a polluted south London river was found dead on a golf course a few days later, according to locals.
Thames Water told locals the toxic oil spill in Beverley Brook, which runs through Richmond Park, was caused by “illegal flytipping”.
The culprit is unknown but thought to be a commercial company.
Sarah Olney, Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park, moved to reassure her constituents that she was told there would be minimal impact on animals.
She tweeted: “The Environment Agency are continuing to clean up the waste.
“Fortunately, they don’t believe the remaining pollution will have any environmental impact on the Thames and it appears there has been a minimal impact on fish & wildlife.”
However, one man replied with an image of a heron covered in oil close to the polluted brook and said he believed it to be the same one found dead on a New Malden golf course.
I took this photo of a heron in Richmond Park completely covered in oil presumably from the spill. Probably the same one as the one found dead later on New Malden golf course. pic.twitter.com/eczTPzxi3U
— john (@gurnemanz15) April 5, 2022
A volunteer from London Wildlife Protection said: “The really sad thing is that he suffered.
“The smell was awful. The problem is it is really difficult to get rid of everything, it is really thick and black and gets caught up in shrubs along the way so it can get logged for some time then move on.”
They added: “We were contacted by people from the golf course, the heron had been visiting there for two years. He must have suffered. He had been seen like that for a couple of days at least and people had been trying to catch him.”
Another bird lover, who first identified the toxic spill, told The Standard: “There are many herons and water birds that use the brook, along with all other wildlife. A oil dump like this will affect the entire food chain.”
Beverley Brook’s name is derived from the former presence in the river of the European beaver a species extinct in Britain since the sixteenth century
In the aftermath of the spill dog walkers on Wimbledon and Putney Commons and Richmond Park were warned against letting their dogs enter the water.
An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: “We were informed on Sunday afternoon of oil pollution in the Beverly Brook which flows through Richmond Park.
“Our officers went onsite with Thames Water to trace the source and also assess the impact of the pollution. Thames Water have begun the clean-up operation and we will continue to monitor the situation.
“Members of the public should report pollution incidents to our free 24-hour Incident Hotline on 0800 807060.”
Nobody has been prosecuted so far for the oil spill.
