DOG walkers are being urged to stay off Limekilns beach after an overnight oil spillage.

Experts are currently heading to the scene in an effort to find out what has happened.

Charlestown, Limekilns and Pattiesmuir Nature Conservation Group's chairperson, Jo McFarlane, said the incident will also have affected nearby beaches.

"There is oil all over the beach – you can see the tide line along the wall of the pier," she told the Press.

"We had one goose which had a bit of oil on it but that has flown away. At the moment, there isn't any wildlife in sight but the stench of the oil is pretty horrific.

"People have been reporting the stench since last night but not realising what it was and will have woken up to it. It is pretty horrible.

"For us, it is pretty depressing as a community. We have been doing beach cleans for around two years and working towards moving away from single use plastics and now the beach is covered.

"SEPA are on their way along here along with Forth Ports to try and understand where it has originated from. We would recommend that you do not venture on to the beach with dogs or children while it’s being investigated."

A post by Fife Council's Environmental Health team on Twitter said the area had been contaminated by an "unknown pollutant."

It warned people to avoid contact with the beach or water, not to take anything home from the beach, not to consume any fish or shellfish from the water and to wash hands and footwear.

A spokesperson from Forth Ports confirmed they were currently investigating a "reported small oil spill" on the beach at Limekilns.

"It appears to be a light refined diesel," explained the spokesperson. "On receiving the initial report, Forth Ports immediately sent a pollution response vessel to the area to investigate and nothing was found on the water.

"Subsequent investigations from our on scene response suggest the spill has come from a drain on the land. We are working with SEPA and Fife Council on this.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said they were also aware of reports of an oil substance on the north shore of the Firth of Forth.

"The Marine Scotland Duty Officer is liaising with all the appropriate authorities to establish the nature of the reports," added the spokesperson.

Douglas Chapman MP for Dunfermline and West Fife said SEPA have informed his office that the spill took place out at sea and that Marine Scotland are on the scene alongside the Coastguard, Fife Council and Fife Coast and Countryside Trust.

"While there is a terrible stench of oil in the air, the clean-up process is underway and the advice to the public is to stay away from the beach to allow the appropriate authorities to deal with the problem as efficiently as possible," he said.

"There is limited information on whether any bird or sea life has been caught up in the oil, but anything like this usually means that wildlife is badly affected and I am calling on all the agencies to make sure any wildlife casualties are dealt with as quickly as possible.

"Despite the millions of barrels of North Sea Oil that has been transferred from Hound Point and from Grangemouth over decades, the Forth has remained relatively safe from oil spills. 

"I have asked all agencies to keep me informed of developments and for them to maintain good communications with the general public as to safety around the beach and to how the spillage came about. 

"I am a strong believer in the polluter pays principle and I hope that any damage to our environment can be undone over time and those responsible brought to book over this spillage."

Dunfermline MSP, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said the incident was "very concerning."

She added: "Urgent action is needed to ensure that lasting damage isn’t caused to local wildlife and the surrounding environment.

“I’ve contacted SEPA, in order to find out more about the source of this pollution, and the steps that are being taken to address the matter.

“This will be especially disappointing to the Charlestown, Limekilns and Pattiesmuir Nature Conservation Group, who have been working incredibly hard to clean up local beaches in recent months.”