Crap Towns / Leigh / Pollution incidents
How often does Leigh get polluted?
10 serious pollution incidents have been recorded in Leigh or within 1 km of it since 2016, the joint 106th most of the 948 English towns that have had one. The most recent came in February 2026 and put general biodegradable material or waste on the land. Commercial waste turned up in 2 of them.
| When | What | Where | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026 | General biodegradable material or waste | On the land | Significant |
| August 2025 | Commercial waste | On the land | Significant |
| July 2025 | General biodegradable material or waste | On the land | Significant |
| June 2025 | Building rubble | In the water and on the land | Significant |
| January 2025 | Household waste | On the land | Significant |
| January 2025 | Commercial waste | On the land | Significant |
| June 2019 | An unidentified pollutant | In the water | Significant |
| June 2019 | An unidentified pollutant | In the water | Significant |
| February 2016 | Minewater | In the water | Significant |
| January 2016 | Unidentified oil | On the land | Significant |
| Town | Distance | Serious incidents since 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Leigh | – | 10 |
| Atherton | 4.2 km | 4 |
| Westhoughton | 5.0 km | 4 |
| Hindley | 4.6 km | 3 |
| Ashton-in-Makerfield | 7.0 km | 2 |
| Ince-in-Makerfield | 6.4 km | 2 |
| Culcheth | 5.1 km | 1 |
| Golborne | 4.2 km | 1 |