Oil damage on Guernsey beach was “act of vandalism”

The environment minister has purportedly said that the spillage of oil on a Guernsey beach was

“a deliberate act of vandalism”.

On Friday walkers at the north end of the Vazon beach were horrified to find that a huge quantity of oil had apparently been poured over the sea wall steps. The environment department attended and confirmed that a

"significant quantity of what appears to be old engine oil"

had indeed been disposed of on the beach.

Spill response experts managed to remove most of the spilled oil on the same day using specialist absorbent sheets designed to remove oil. They followed this by using absorbent granules on the areas where the oil still needed to be removed.

Guernsey’s deputy environment minister, Peter Sirett, condoned the actions. He said that the people who did it were without

"sense of reason and understanding about the planet they live on"

.

He further commented:

"Not only have they ruined the area for beach users they have shown a total disregard for their and our environment."