UK: Tesco pleads guilty over river fuel spill

British convenience and fuel retailer Tesco is facing a fine after admitting responsibility for a fuel leak from one of its gas stations onto a river, reports the Guardian.

Tesco´s Haslingden gas station leaked thousands of litres into Langwood Brook, a tributary to the River Irwell, in July 2014, and will now be subject to a significant fine.

The Environment Agency and Lancashire County Council accused Tesco of a failing to stop 23,500 litres of fuel leaking from a gas station between 2 and 3 July 2014, which polluted a 10-mile stretch of a river.

All parties involved will now go to a three-day sentencing hearing in January next year where the quantity of the fine and other possible responsibilities over the leak will be settled.