A CLEAN-UP operation taking place on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal after ‘two barrels worth of oil’ were found in the water.

The Canal and River Trust said it is working to remove oil from a stretch of water near Church Kirk.

The oil was found by Gary Britland when he was walking his dog along the canal path on Tuesday.

He reported the incident to the Canal and River Trust, who then came down on Wednesday to contain the pollution and start the clean-up.

Mr Britland, 43, from Church Kirk, said: “It was across a stretch of about 30ft, at least two barrels of oil must have been dumped in there.

“There is a lot of wildlife in the area such as kingfishers, fish, geese and I was worried what could happen to them.

“It’s just mindless behaviour whoever has dumped it.

"It won’t be the businesses around there, they do a great job.

"Thankfully the rivers trust managed to act so quickly.”

The trust has a put boom around the oil to stop it spreading further and oil-absorbent pads have been put in place to soak up the oil.

A Canal and River Trust spokesman said: “We’re aware of the pollution although at present we don’t know what caused it.

“The team is following our pollution control procedures.”