River Lostock oil pollution alert raised by walkers

Kerry Moran, 36, contacted the Environment Agency after noticing a smell of diesel, while walking near the river in Leyland on Wednesday.

Kerry, who owns dog-walking firm Buddy’s Pawz, was worried about dogs who may have gone into the river for a much needed cool down.

“It’s frustrating because I have a duty of care to the dogs and in the hot weather they often need to cool off.

“It’s just so dangerous as so many people won’t realise the implications of it.”

Her Facebook post, which was photographed at Mill Lane in Leyland, was shared dozens of times by others.

Janette Sherrington, who had been walking along the river, commented: “I have just been at Cuerden and it’s up there too.

“The Environmental Agency was there trying to keep dogs out and monitoring it.”

Kerry, from Lostock Hall, is now urging people with dogs and children to contact the Environmental Agency with their concerns, as she claims that this issue has been put forward before.

“They previously reassured me that the river was safe, but then it happens again. It’s so frustrating,“ she said. “Serious measures should be in place to stop this happening again.”

The Environmental Agency has since confirmed that they were able to trace the source of pollution, but have been unable to name where for legal reasons.

An EA spokesman said: “We deployed our incident response staff and they successfully traced the source of the pollution. The site is now taking immediate action.”

In August 2017, people were asked to steer clear of the River Lostock when hundreds of fish were found dead at Cuerden.

Anyone with pollution concerns can call the EA on 0800 80 70 60