A crush of mud finally plugged BP’S blown-out well, three months after the offshore drilling rig explosion that unleashed a gush of oil and a summer of misery along the Gulf Coast.

The federal official leading the Gulf of Mexico oil clean-up said today that a new containment cap and an additional ship collecting oil could effectively contain the spill as early as Monday.

The vital relief well being drilled to halt BP’s giant Gulf of Mexico spill could be finished ahead of schedule, the company said today.