A GREAT Harwood haulage company has been fined £8,000 after polluting Knuzden Brook in Blackburn and poisoning fish.

CSH Transport and Forwarding Ltd, of Back Heys Lane, admitted polluting the brook with sodium bisulphate and poisoning fish on September 25 1997.

The company was also fined a further £12,000 for breaching health and safety regulations and ordered by Blackburn Magistrates to pay £929 costs to the Health and Safety Executive and £1,105 costs to the Environment Agency.

Magistrates heard how the agency was contacted by the fire service when a heavy goods vehicle shed a load of containers filled with sodium bisulphate at Whitebirk roundabout.

Matthew Cotterell, prosecuting, told the court that protection officer Paul Parkinson went to the scene and found five containers on the road. Three of them were found to be leaking.

The court heard how up to 1,000 litres of the chemical was spilled and an unknown amount entered surface water drains, which are designed to carry only clean rainwater.

Containers were not secured to the vehicle, owned by CSH Transport and Forwarding Ltd, and appeared to have slipped as it manoeuvred to avoid another vehicle. The driver had been returning to the depot after realising he did not have the correct licence to transport the hazardous chemical.

Firefighters attempted to contain the spill but two policemen were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of inhaling sulphur dioxide fumes.

Magistrates were told that Paul Parkinson inspected Knuzden Brook and found 30 dead fish.

Sodium bisulphate when mixed with water drastically reduces the oxygen level of the water.

The court heard the agency was concerned the containers had not been secured to the vehicle, the driver had not received the necessary training to transport hazardous loads and there was initial confusion about the load.

Environment Agency spokesman Amanda Coleman said after the court case: "We are always looking to make sure that companies meet the strict guidelines and regulations set down and when things go wrong we will take action as this case in Blackburn shows."

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