Disaster will strike Southend seafront tomorrow as the borough tests its ability to deal with a major coastal pollution incident.
Southend Council's emergency planning officer has created a scenario called Exercise Raven to simulate a pollution incident and test the response to it.
Agencies taking part will include a number of council departments, the emergency services, the Environment Agency, English Nature, Essex County Council, the Thames Oil Spill Clearance Association and the Port of London Authority.
No real pollutants will be put into the sea. But personnel who would have to deal with such an incident will be treating it seriously and using all the equipment available to them.
A Southend Council spokesman said: "We are keeping details of the actual exercise secret so those taking part will not have any forewarning. We just want the public to know we are running an exercise so they don't get worried."
Published Thursday, June 12, 2003
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