A town river has been polluted by oil spilling into street drains, leaving environmentalists furious.

The spill in Abberd Brook, which leads into the River Marden in Calne, was reported to the town council on the morning of February 1.

The  Environment Agency is now working to contain the mess.

The council has not been told how long it will take to collect the oil and do not know what caused the spill.  

Calne environmental group River Warriors were posted on Facebook: “This is criminal, if you put motor oil down the street drains you are polluting our brooks and rivers and killing all that lives in it! All street drains lead to our brooks and rivers and eventually the sea! Stop putting things down the drains!”

Leader of River Warriors Tamzyn Long said: “The Environment Agency have got a tonne of people down there. It’s terrible what’s happened.

“Underneath one of the bridges along the Abberd Brook there’s an outlet for all the street drains.

“Something’s gone down the drain and the Environment Agency are going to track it so within the next few days hopefully they’ll know where the source is.

“All drains lead to brooks and rivers and eventually go to the sea so it’s not great.

 “There’s actually a big tanker there now that’s sucking up all the oil from the surface.

“We were chatting to them and they’re going to be here for a few more days. There’s quite a bit more work involved.”

She added: “We have quite an abundance of ducks on the Abberd and there’s a pond as well that they like. We haven’t found any casualties so hopefully that’s alright.

“The oil stays at the surface so hopefully fish underneath will be ok but obviously it’s not great at all, you can actually smell the oil, there’s quite a lot.

“It’s very upsetting, a lot of people in the town are upset. A lot of people use that walkway and wonder along the brook.

"And as volunteers we’re out every two weeks trying to make it as nice as we can so it’s a real shame.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "We have found no evidence of fish in distress and are working to identify the source of the oil and clean up the pollution."

To report further river pollution call 0800 807060.