10,000 litres of siphoned fuel spilled onto roads around Sandycroft

Police have revealed the cause of the huge fuel spillage in Sandycroft the early hours of this morning.

Thieves siphoned more than 10,000 diesel from a storage tank at Parcel Force on Factory Road just before 2am.

The stolen fuel was loaded onto to a lorry but as it was driven off a number of containers fell onto the road at several points including the junction of Prince William Avenue and Station Road and the junction of Chester Road and Station Road in Sandycroft.

The fuel has also seeped into Broughton Brook and environmental officers are working to clean it up.

A police spokesperson said:

“We are appealing for information following the theft of thousands of litres of fuel from a depot in Flintshire overnight.”

“We received a report at 1.51am December 9, that thieves had broken into the Parcel Force depot on Factory Road, Sandycroft and siphoned fuel from a tank on the site into containers on a nearby lorry.”

“As the vehicle made off a large number of containers fell causing substantial diesel spills at several points including the junction of Prince William Avenue and Station Road and the junction of Chester Road and Station Road in Sandycroft.”

DS Colin Oare said; “ This was a serious and extremely reckless crime in which more than 10,000 litres of fuel have spilled on to the road.”

“We are working with our partners at Natural Resources Wales who are assessing the wider environmental impact.”

In the meantime I would appeal to anyone with information or dash-cam footage which may assist our investigation to call 101 or use the live webchat https://www.northwales.police.uk/police-forces/north-wales-police/areas/live-chat/ quoting reference Y179872.”

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has said it’s officers are working with emergency services in Sandycroft who dealing with the spillage.

NRW officers have been working with fire service on oil containment measures.

Fuel has spilled into Broughton Brook and work is continuing to remove it.

A spokesperson has said “Oil booms have been deployed to reduce the spread of the oil and we are currently investigating the options available to remove any remaining fuel currently within the Broughton Brook.”