Dear Parishioners,

As Parish Clerk on behalf of the Parish Council I wish to inform the Parishioners of Ormesby St Margaret, Scratby & California of an environmental incident which has taken place and of which we were made aware of yesterday at 4pm. There has been an accidental contamination of the duck pond in Ormesby with engine oil from a parked van with a broken sump, the oil over a period of 2 days has been washed with the rain down to the pond and has entered the pond via the surface water drainage.

The current situation is that the water in the pond is contaminated, and the ducks have been covered in oil. I have been liaising with the RSPCA who were in attendance last night and at 8pm this morning. They state because of the current bird flu situation they are unable to take the birds to a rescue centre because of the potential risks involved if there were to be taken currently, they would have no alternative but to put them to sleep. The ducks are currently perky and none have been lost I have been asked to monitor the situation and they will attend again if needed.

As to the oil contamination I have been able to determine the van involved and the identity of the owner. I have reported the incident to the Environmental Agency last night and again this morning and I have asked them to liaise with me once they have attended and assessed the situation. My contact details have been passed to the local team and they have been asked to liaise with me.  However I have been told they won’t guarantee that they will liaise and generally that they do not give any feedback once an incident has been registered as to what action they take. I have stressed the importance of communication with me so that parishioners can be kept informed of the developing situation and what can be done to rectify the pollution.

As soon as an update is available it will be posted on the council’s website and Facebook page.

Philip Stone

Parish Clerk