Animals Evacuated Due To Fuel Spill At RAF Brize Norton

About 1,600 litres of diesel has spilled from RAF Brize Norton on to neighbouring land occupied by Time Out Animal Farm.

The spill was spotted by a member of the public who alerted the RAF.

Sanctuary founder Rob Rhodes was putting his animals to bed at about 6pm when a member of RAF personnel came over to warn him about the spillage.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Rhodes said: "They helped me remove the animals and put them into an area where I store the hay so they've been having a whale of a time.

"By the time I left late last night, they had got floodlights into my field, they had a tanker there that was pumping, the fire engines were there.

"Nobody did it deliberately. Everybody has accidents. They are doing the best they can."

Mr Rhodes said "sausage-shaped" barriers had been put around the spill to prevent it from spreading.

RAF Brize Norton tweeted to make the public aware of the situation, saying: "Please be aware, there has been a diesel spillage from our station on to land occupied by the Time Out Animal Sanctuary.

"Our personnel are deployed and working with external agencies to deal with the spillage. Please do avoid the area."

An RAF spokesman said: "Yesterday a member of the public notified us that a diesel spill at RAF Brize Norton had affected nearby farmland.

"RAF personnel quickly contained the limited spill and are on site to clear the remaining diesel. There was no impact on operations."