Thousands of cubic metres of crude oil has spilled onto fields in southern France.

The fire department said about two hectares of land close to the town of Saint-Martin-de-Crau has been polluted by oil after a leak in a pipeline linking the South of France with Germany. Officials said between 2,000 and 3,000 cubic metres of crude had leaked out.

The incident, which took place this morning, is being investigated and as soon as it was detected a 20km stretch of the pipeline was shuf off, the operator of the pipeline, the Societe du Pipeline Sud-Europeen (SPSE) indicated.

The French authorities said local drinking water would not be affected while the SPSE said there should be little impact on the environment.

"The oil spill will not extend further, we are currently recuperating the crude oil, and the groundwater has not been touched. There is no problem with the locals, because they are so far away and so, the neighbourhood is not affected, and there is no river so it's impossible to tell you here and now that it's a cause of concern for the environment," Francois Trabucco, SPSE deputy technical director said.

The fire brigade and the SPSE have started a clean up operation and the SPSE said deliveries will not be affected as parallel pipelines can be used.

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