Sustainable clean-up after vandals pollute the Mon & Brec

British Waterways Wales & Border Counties reacted quickly to the incident, drafting in specialist contractors to contain the spill caused by mindless vandals deliberately emptying around 20 gallons of waste oil into the stretch of canal.

Tree bark was deployed along the 300 metre length of canal to absorb the oil without taking in any water. The contaminated bark was then harvested from the water surface.

This stretch of canal is still awaiting re-watering following last year’s breach and this restricted the extent of waterway affected. Heritage & Environment Manager Peter Birch said the fact that the canal contained very little water meant damage was restricted.

"The recent wind and rain helped to retain the pollution within the initial section and it has posed no risk to people or wildlife," said Mr Birch. "However, I doubt the mindless vandals who did this particularly cared how much damage they were causing," he added.

Waste oil can be easily disposed of free of charge by taking it to a local authority site, such as nearby Llanfoist.

Read updates on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal breach