A major incident was declared on Sunday after around 200 barrels of reservoir fluid including oil leaked into the water at Poole Harbour, Dorset.

Poole Harbour Commissioners said that the leak occurred at a pipeline managed by Perenco, under Owers Bay.

Members of the public were urged not to swim at the site or its surrounding area until further notice, while Perenco said that a "full investigation" would be carried out into how the leak occurred.

Poole is the largest natural harbour in Europe. It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI) which is home to a variety of wading birds.

PHC said: "It is estimated that approximately 200 barrels of reservoir fluid has been released into the water column in Poole Harbour.

"Anyone who has come into contact with the spill should wash immediately with soap and water. If eyes have come into contact with the spill, they should be rinsed with water."

The commissioner said it had also put its oil spill plan into place while the pipeline had been shut down, with booms placed on either side of the leak.

PHC added that companies specialising in oil spill response had also been mobilised.

Perenco said its incident management team had been activated immediately to stop the leak while a clean-up operation was underway.

Franck Dy, Perenco UK's Wytch Farm general manager, said: "Any spill is an extremely serious matter and a full investigation will be launched to ascertain what happened in Poole Harbour.

"It is important to stress that the situation is under control, with the discharge of fluids having been stopped and the spill is being contained."