As the winter weather continues to take hold we all dread the prospect of problems with our heating system as complex issues leave us in the cold in more ways than one. It is recommended to have boiler care or to ensure this is covered under your home insurance to make sure you won’t be out of pocket. Septic tanks require similar care, and again we would recommend you have adequate insurance to avoid a bill where anything goes wrong.

But what happens if a malfunction in a neighbour’s oil or septic tank has led to a spillage onto your property? This could be from a breach in the tank due to rust or wear-and-tear, or even a mistake by their contractor leading to a release of hazardous liquids onto your land. A gradual or sudden release of hazardous liquid causes trouble to your land both on the surface and soaking down through the layers of earth below. As well as this it is a risk to your personal health, with septic tanks a source of many forms of harmful bacteria with E. coli especially an example.

The first thing to do on discovering the spill is to limit the spread and minimise the area affected. To do this and reduce the risk of harm to yourself you should contact a specialist contractor as soon as possible. They will establish the full extent of the spillage and will take necessary samples for examination to confirm the source of the spillage as from neighbouring land. The contractor will also ensure any dangerous materials are disposed of correctly to minimise further harm to the environment.

A spillage will badly affect agricultural land used both for grazing and for growing crops, while on the residential side this will affect the marketability of the property. In both instances any spillage incident needs to be dealt with as soon as possible to minimise the damage.

With severe financial and environmental implications, you will be glad the responsibility for the loss or damage you have suffered is with whoever caused the spill in their use, storage or transport of the substance . We will ensure you are fully compensated for all loss, from the diagnosis or advice of a specialist contractor to the full clean-up of the affected land and disposal of all contaminated remnants. Where necessary we liaise with the Department of Agriculture, Envronment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to ensure all protocols are adhered to with no hassle to you.

If you have been affected, please contact one of the claims team on 02891 817715 , or by email at claims@boydricesolicitors.com and let us explain how we can help you.

We offer a free initial consultation where we will confidentially discuss the circumstances of the incident and will assess how we can assist you in the best way possible. We use leading experts to investigate spillages and our team of environmental consultants are extremely experienced.