Six years on from the Sea Empress oil spill, two local authorities in Wales are still functioning without an emergency disaster plan, it has emerged.

The findings by the National Audit Office have prompted fears that the Denbighshire and Newport/Monmouthshire coastal authorities would be ill-equipped to handle a major pollution incident.

Tens of thousands of sea birds were killed by the oil pollution

When the Sea Empress tanker ran aground at Milford Haven in 1996, 72,000 tonnes of crude oil spilled into the estuary, badly damaging the marine environment.

A subsequent inquiry was critical of the events and aftermath of the disaster, and the report called for a tightening up of pollution control.

Four other authorities out of 170 in the UK examined are also without emergency plans.

The NAO report's findings have alarmed officials at the World Wildlife Fund.

Denbighshire covers the busy shipping and ferry lanes in the Irish Sea, while Monmouthshire and Newport cover the Severn Estuary, one of the world's strongest tidal waters.

Pollution controls

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency - which is responsible for the UK's coastline - has not received details of contingency plans from either authority.

An agency spokesman said its officials had been told Newport was awaiting the preparation of a wider plan covering the Severn Estuary.

Denbighshire - which has dealt with two pollution incidents on its beaches in recent years - has said it would only prepare its emergency plan when proper resources become available.

The NAO also found significant parts of the Welsh coastline were not properly covered by shipping oil pollution regulations.

The areas omitted include environmentally sensitive areas such as St Brides Bay, Cardigan Bay and also the Severn Estuary and south of the Lleyn Peninsular.

The World Wildlife Fund has campaigned vigorously against marine pollution and expressed deep concern about the NAO report.

Major disaster

A WWF spokesperson said pollution control plans should be made a statutory duty for local authorities so they received funding for them.

Since 1996, claims from local businesses and fishermen arising out of the Sea Empress grounding have reached �34m.

The Sea Empress oil spill was the third-largest tanker spill in UK waters.

Around 120 miles of coastline were polluted in the Haven and between Cardigan Bay and Pendine Sands.

An official inquiry into the disaster partly blamed the inadequate training and inexperience of a port authority pilot.