
Thanet District Council has closed beaches across the Isle of Thanet as authorities investigate the source of the pollution.
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Thanet District Council reported an oil spill affecting 18 beaches on Wednesday evening. The source of the contamination remains unidentified.
Eighteen beaches in Kent have been closed due to an oil spill which the local council said will take "many days" to clean-up.
"Significant deposits of oil" were found at beaches across the Isle of Thanet, including Ramsgate and the popular tourist beaches of Margate and Broadstairs.
Thanet District Council (TDC) reported the incident on Wednesday evening and the Environmental Agency (EA) is investigating. The source of the oil has not been identified.
Mike Humber, director for the environment at the council, told BBC South East: "We never want to be saying to the public to not go on the beaches, but we have taken that decision to protect the public."
He added: "We want to clean up as quickly as we can. I think it will be many days, but it's difficult to be sure on that kind of timescale.
"It looks like its covering all of the beaches in Thanet. We need to think about public safety."
East Thanet MP Polly Billington reiterated that "the source of this spill is unclear", but added that she was being kept up-to-date with developments and was "hoping to see our beautiful beaches reopened as quickly as possible".
A spokesperson for TDC urged people, particularly dog walkers, to avoid the affected areas, and to report any deposits of oil on beaches to the authority.
The council was working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to remove the deposits from all of the affected beaches, and that samples would be collected and analysed.
Coastguard aircraft have been flying over the affected area as part of the search.

Eighteen beaches in Kent, including Margate and Ramsgate, have been closed due to significant oil deposits. The Thanet District Council and the Environment Agency are investigating the source of the spill and advising the public to avoid the affected coastline.

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