Toxic substances could endanger hundreds of thousands of birds along Yorkshire coast says Wildlife Trust

Hundreds of thousands of birds along the Yorkshire coast could be at risk after an oil tanker carrying A-1 jet fuel collided with a cargo vessel in the North Sea.

David Craven, Regional Manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, told BBC Breakfast that the immediate concern is toxic substances entering “phenomenally important” marine environments.

“A concern here is if pollutants are getting into the system, it could affect the food in those mudflat systems, as well as the birds feeding on them,” he said.

“We are talking about hundreds of thousands of birds that come here,” he added, emphasising that these birds “don’t have anywhere else to go.”