Concerns raised for wildlife and people after petrol spotted in Mansfield's Maun river

The incident prompted Mansfield firefighters to investigate and a water authority to take action.

Tarone Burton said he and his partner were walking home on Wednesday, when they could smell petrol by the bridge over the Maun River, on Old Mill Lane, Forest Town.

He told the Chad: “We could smell petrol, and after looking into the water we could see that petrol was running into the river via a storm drain, we contacted Severn Trent, which is next to the river and they responded that they’d get someone out in the next eight hours.”

“I was concerned, it could have possibly killed the local wildlife. They said they would try in four hours, realising the liquid was highly flammable we called the fire brigade who attended the scene, and we left.”

But after passing the bridge again on Thursday, Mr Burton said he felt “a weak effort” had been made to deal with the problem.

He added “My concern is that children and animals play in the water.

The River Maun flows through Mansfield, to Edwinstowe and Ollerton, into Sherwood Forest. It links green spaces including the Oakham Nature Reserve, Quarry Lane Nature Reserve and Titchfield Park and is recognised as a wildlife haven.

A Nottinghamshire Fire Service spokesperson said: “Mansfield firefighters attended a petrol spillage on Old Mill Lane yesterday evening. Fuel was leaking from a rainwater drain, so we handed the site over to Severn Trent and the Environment Agency for investigations.”

A spokesperson for Severn Trent said: “We sent a team of engineers to investigate reports of petrol entering the River Maun on Wednesday, within two hours of being told about it.

"We quickly put measures in place to stop it spreading and reduce the impact on local wildlife and the environment as much as possible.

“Our investigation to find the source of the spillage and identify where it entered our network remains on-going. We’ll continue to work closely with the Environment Agency throughout this process.

“We’d like to thank our customers who brought this pollution to our attention so quickly, allowing us to act on it before more damage was done.”

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