Thousands of black balls have washed up on a British beach just days after a broken pipe leaked 80,000 litres of oil into the Irish Sea.
The small balls of tar were discovered on the coastline of seaside town Blackpool, Lancashire, sparking a major clean up operation.
Their discovery comes after roughly 500 barrels of crude oil escaped from a pipe off the coast of North Wales, which supplies fuel to the Isle of Man.
People have been urged not to touch the balls or attempt to remove them from the beach while clean up teams from oil firm ENI UK are sent in.
A spokesman for the firm said: "The clean-up teams are onsite and working closely with the local authorities and coastguard."
Pictures of the iconic beach have shown the small black balls strewn across the sand between the town's North and Central Piers.
The burst pipe, which runs between two platforms named Conwy and Douglas, was shut off following the leak on Monday and remains closed.
The coin-size pieces of tar are made up of a mixture of hydrocarbons and form when crude oil deposits are weathered after floating in the ocean.
The local council said Storm Dudley is likely to see more balls wash up on the shore and has urged people not to touch or try to remove any of the balls.
A spokesman for Blackpool Council said: "Due to tidal conditions and a forecast of extreme weather conditions over the next few days, there is a possibility of more washing up.
"Our beaches will mostly be chained off due to high tides and storm force winds during this time, and we ask that people avoid these stretches to avoid any contact."
Eni UK processes crude oil to produce fuels, lubricants and chemical products and is involved with offshore drilling in the UK.
