A MAJOR road in Carmarthenshire is set to close for three days this weekend.

Work will begin on Friday to repair a pipeline which leaked 140,000 litres of kerosene into waterways in Nantycaws last week.

This will result in the busy A48 being closed in both directions from the evening of Friday, October 14 until the early hours of Monday, October 17. All traffic will be diverted along the official diversion route through Llangunnor.

Speaking about the forthcoming road closure, Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards said: "News that the dual carriageway, the major route to and from west Wales, will close completely next week could have significant ramifications for the west Wales economy and place a huge burden on residents along the diversion route.”

On Friday morning, Jonathan Edwards and constituency colleague local AM Adam Price called for the Cabinet Secretary to visit the area and see for herself the effects of the oil disaster. Their call was prompted after their visit to residents where the polluted Nant Pibwr runs through their land.

Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rurual Affairs, visited Nantycaws over the weekend to see the ongoing work to minimise the impacts of the recent oil spill.

Mr Price stated that he was grateful the minister was finally attending the scene, despite the initial "sluggish response" from the Welsh Government.

Mr Price said:" Whilst no oil is now able to enter the affected section of the pipeline, the isolated section is 25km long with the residual oil still coming out.

"That is why the leaked quantity has risen to 140,000 litres, and until we can receive confirmation it has been plugged, this figure is likely to continue to rise until the section of the pipeline has completely drained.

"Following the Cabinet Secretary visit I implore the establish a full investigation into the cause and effects of this disaster, not least in how we measure the damage and costs to local landowners, residents and businesses who will have to cope with the consequences."

Speaking in Nantycaws, the Cabinet Secretary said: "This is a significant pollution incident in which a reported 140,000 litres of kerosene has been released.

“I was pleased to learn that two thirds of this has now been successfully removed from the nearby stream and that the pipeline is switched off.

The Cabinet Secretary met with Emyr Roberts, Chief Executive of Natural Resources Wales and thanked NRW staff at the incident centre in Cross Hands for their work in co-ordinating the response, before meeting senior representatives and contractors of operator, Valero.

"Monitoring is continuing and I can reassure the public that this is not showing any risks to health or public water supply. NRW's swift action has undoubtedly minimised the impact of the spill on the local community and surrounding wildlife,” added the Cabinet Secretary.