A Delph river was said to have ‘stank of petrol’ following an oil leak.

Residents posting on the Delph Community group Facebook page reported seeing oil in the River Tame, with some residents warning others not to allow dogs into the river on Wednesday, April 19.

Resident Mel Wimmer was reminded of when she was a child, asking “Is it dye from the mills, there were tonnes of dead fish when we were kids because of this.”

Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest stories sent straight to your inbox.

The Environment Agency, which is responsible for regulating water pollution, has confirmed that the pollution resulted from a leaking oil tank.

The agency said it put booms, a temporary floating barrier, in the river to help contain and clean up the spill.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Following reports of pollution in the River Tame at Delph on Wednesday 19th April, our officers attended the site and traced the source of the pollution back to an oil tank on a private property, which had been accidentally leaking.

“This was quickly rectified and the leak stopped.

“Our teams also deployed booms into the river to reduce the amount of oil in the watercourse. We will continue to monitor the situation and arrange any follow up actions that may be required.

“We encourage members of the public to report environmental incidents to our 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 807060.”