PEMBROKESHIRE recently hosted a two-day oil pollution course. The course was run by the Counter-Pollution branch of the Southampton-based Maritime and Coastguard Agency, in conjunction with Pembrokeshire County Council.

Only eight such courses were held throughout the United Kingdom and the council submitted a successful bid to host the event - the only one to be held in Wales.

The first day was classroom-based at the Pembrokeshire Watersports Centre in Pembroke Dock, while Solva Harbour was the setting for day two when oil booms were positioned at the entrance to the harbour.

Said Jayne Couzens, Pembrokeshire County Councils emergency planning officer: The crux of the course was to keep all responders to an oil spill incident abreast of new techniques which have been developed, and to provide a standard delivery of training.

Around 60 people attended from all over Wales, including representatives from the refineries, the ports of Fishguard and Pembroke Dock, as well as the emergency services and students from Pembrokeshire College.

Kevin Colcomb, senior scientist with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, praised Pembrokeshire County Councils involvement with the course.

The council has shown markedly more interest in this exercise than any other local authority around the United Kingdom coast, he said. There is a lot of co-operation between the council and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Pictured at Solva Harbour with one of the floating booms are (left to right): Kevin Colcomb, Jayne Couzens, Councillor Brian Hall (chairman of the county councils highways and transportation committee); Barrie Davies (head of the councils infrastructure management) and Councillor Leslie Raymond (vice-chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council).