A CONTRACTOR has been ordered to pay more than £5,500 by York magistrates after a diesel leak accidentally polluted the River Foss.

J.Hughes Construction Ltd, of Middlesbrough, admitted causing red diesel to enter the river between July 10 and 11 as it carried out work at Wilson Connolly depot, in Huntington Road, York.

The court was told that a member of the public called the Environment Agency to report the spillage, which caused a thick, orange film around a kilometre long to coat the surface of the water.

The Agency's in-house workforce used booms across the width of the Foss to protect further stretches from pollution, and the spill was eventually traced back to a damaged plastic fuel tank owned by J.Hughes Construction Ltd.

The company admitted causing the spill after a fuel tank fell off a wall. Thankfully, no immediate or lasting damage was caused to the River Foss and its wildlife.

Presiding magistrate Joan Visick ordered J. Hughes Construction Ltd to pay a fine of £4,000 and costs of £1,684.

She said the Bench did not consider the spillage to be a "deliberate or reckless act" and commended the firm's efforts to co-operate with the Environment Agency to minimise the damage caused.

A case against Wilson Connolly was adjourned until December 11.

Updated: 11:18 Friday, November 28, 2003