Beaches in Thanet, Kent, closed by oil spill

Eighteen beaches in Kent have been closed due to an oil spill which the local council said will take “many days” to clean-up.

“Significant deposits of oil” were found at beaches across the Isle of Thanet, including Ramsgate and the popular tourist beaches of Margate and Broadstairs.

Thanet District Council (TDC) reported the incident on Wednesday evening and the Environmental Agency (EA) is investigating. The source of the oil has not been identified.

Mike Humber, director for the environment at the council, told BBC South East: “We never want to be saying to the public to not go on the beaches, but we have taken that decision to protect the public.”

He added: “We want to clean up as quickly as we can. I think it will be many days, but it’s difficult to be sure on that kind of timescale.

“It looks like its covering all of the beaches in Thanet. We need to think about public safety.”