Willtshire Council has agreed to pay towards the cost of removing contaminated silt from The Crammer in Devizes.

Devizes Town Council, which owns the pond, overspent on its budget to remove silt as it contained higher than expected contaminants.

The contamination was thought to have come from hydrocarbons, or oils, which ran off Estcourt Street into The Crammer.

The town council had to call in a specialist company to dispose of the silt.

It resulted in the project costing £63,192 – the budgeted cost was £14,158.

The town council’s recreation and properties committee was told last week that Wiltshire Council had agreed to make a one-off payment to the value of the overspend, while claiming no liability for the contamination.

Wiltshire Council also plans to install filters to stop hydrocarbons from running into the pond.