Possible oil spill into river 'came from layby'

A potential oil spill into a river could have come from a nearby layby, the Environment Agency (EA) has said.

Anglian Water said on Wednesday it had received reports of a spill at the River Cam in Saffron Walden, Essex.

The EA said it attended a pollution incident on the River Granta, a small tributary of the River Cam, with early indications suggesting "the source was from the layby next to the watercourse".

The BBC was also told that oil had been seen on the River Cam in parts of Cambridgeshire, including Ickleton and Hinxton.

The agency said it was "thankful" for support from the Wellcome Genome Campus, a scientific research facility, after it deployed booms into the water.

Collette O'Shea, chief operating officer at the campus in Hinxton, told the BBC it had used two booms to "try and capture" any potential oils.

An EA spokesperson said "no significant environmental impacts were identified".

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