BRITAIN’S biggest supermarket Tesco has been hit with a huge £8 million fine for polluting Lancashire’s Langwood Brook and the River Irwell.
Tesco, the nation’s biggest supermarket chain, received the second biggest river pollution fine ever.
It was only behind Thames Water who were hit with a £20.3 million penalty in March.
The Tesco incident happened July 2014. Around 23,500 litres of petrol escaped from a petrol station in Haslingden operated by Tesco.
It caused a significant environmental impact killing fish and other aquatic life and anglers reported dead fish six miles downstream in Bury.
Environment Agency manager Mark Easedale said: “A week after the pollution incident an investigation by EA officers found fish populations in the River Irwell immediately downstream of Langwood Brook were around 90% lower than those found upstream.
“The sentencing today sends out a clear message to anyone whose recklessness causes serious pollution to the environment – we will be relentless in our investigations and take action wherever needed.”
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