Officials probe UK link to oil on French beaches

Discs of hardened oil washed up on beaches in north-western France today and officials said they were investigating whether they came from a damaged British cargo ship.

The discs ranged in size from that of a plate to about 1 sq metre, officials from the government office for the Cotes-de-Armour region said. They began to wash up on beaches in Brittany and the neighbouring Finistere region on Friday, officials said.

Several dead birds covered in oil also washed up on beaches in the area over the weekend, officials said.

The origin of the oil was not immediately clear, but tests will be conducted tomorrow to determine whether it came from the British ship cargo ship damaged in a storm earlier this month, officials said.

The MSC Napoli was deliberately run aground a mile off Sidmouth, Devon-- across the English Channel from Brittany – after the container ship was stricken in a storm and began leaking oil.

More oil discs and dead birds were expected to wash ashore on Cotes-de-Armour beaches in the coming days, officials said.