Intruders are being blamed for the “devastation” caused after oil poured from a disused paper mill and into the Great River Stour.

Thieves are reported to have broken into the former works in Chartham, near Canterbury, in the early hours of Friday, February 16, stealing copper from two transformers.

But site managers later discovered that a bung had been removed from a tank which allowed the oil to escape.

Specialist contractors have been brought in by the mill owners, W&S Recycling to clean up the river, with the operation ongoing and being overseen and investigated by the Environment Agency (EA).

The pollution, which ended up in the watercourse as far down as Canterbury city centre, caused widespread alarm about the effect on wildlife.

The EA received 35 reports of dead birds and fish in the river in 24 hours, with worried villagers claiming the Stour had been “devastated” by the pollution.

Among those concerned is Roy Thicke, a retired University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church security guard who lives just minutes from the mill site and regularly feeds the ducks on the river.

He says when he went to feed the birds on Friday, he could not see any.

Speaking two days later, he said: “We have moorhens, kingfishers and geese but none of them are here – it's devastating.”

“I can’t smell [the oil] as since I got Covid I have lost my smell and taste but other villagers have told me it smells of diesel. The spill has already ruined the river for years to come.”

Another resident who did not want to be named but filmed a dead bird in the water, added on the same day: “I have lived here for 50 years and I have never seen the river look so dead.

“Normally it’s filled with birds but today there isn’t any wildlife and I have only seen dead birds in the river.”

A spokesman for the EA said it had not been possible to quantify the amount of oil that had been spilled, but said the effect of the pollution on wildlife “is not as bad as originally feared”.

Chartham parish councillors have been updating villagers with the latest situation.

It said on Tuesday: “We learned that the mill premises were broken into early on Friday morning and copper from two transformers stolen. During the robbery, an oil bung was removed causing oil to escape into the watercourse through storm drains.

“The mill owners have appointed a specialist contractor who have deployed a series of slings across the stream which contain oil absorbent material.

“The owners are conscious of the need to assess any other potential oil sources and pump this out to avoid further incidents.

“They are doing everything they can to make sure that the impact is as small as possible.

“It seems all reasonable actions have now been taken by all involved parties to date.”

Police say they were notified of the mill break-in on Saturday morning and that metal had been stolen from machinery.

A spokesman said: “A review of CCTV has been carried out and crime scene investigators have attended the site as part of the investigation.”

Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at that time, or who has any information, should call 01843 222289 quoting reference 46/27555/24.

The Chartham Paper Mill, which dates back to 1737, went into administration and closed down in September 2022.

A spokesman for the site’s new owners says security at the mill is being beefed up, including with a round-the-clock guard dog.

“This is obviously not the start of our ownership we wanted and we understand local people’s concerns but hope the situation will improve soon,” he said.

“We are working closely with the EA and specialist contractors to mitigate the problem.

“Our initial plan was to generally tidy up the site, use part of it for storage and possible short term letting and then see what could be done in terms of redevelopment.

“We have no immediate intention of demolishing the buildings as the site is a long term project for us.

“We are in contact with the parish council over its neighbourhood plan and hope to have meeting with them in next couple of weeks.”