This picture shows the extent of an oil spill at a picturesque village pond near Braintree.
It could take weeks and cost more than £10,000 to clear up the deliberate pollution.
The spill at Panners Farm hamlet, Great Notley, where 200 gallons of fuel oil got into a pond, killing fish and water birds, was branded an environmental disaster by the Environment Agency.
Officers were today and yesterday hunting for the source of the contaminate so they can stop yet more oil polluting the pond.
They are using a series of booms to trap the oil and dispose of it.
Agency officer John Parish said the damage to fish, birds and water lilies was some of the worst he had seen in a pond.
He said: "People need to realise the amount of damage oil can do. It can spread a long way and cause an environmental disaster for local wildlife ."
Officers believe the spill happened last week, as that was when residents first noticed an oil smell,
They placed booms on the pond and collected samples to try and discover the type of oil they were dealing with.
They had traced the pollution as far as the White Court area but are waiting for contractors to do a more thorough search by lifting drain covers farther along.
Published Tuesday, June 10, 2003
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