An embarrassed resident has apologised after accidently flooding part of Harrington Sound with sand.

Barry Hanson mistakenly ordered a truck load of sand to form a platform to enable people to access the sea at his Harrington Sound Road home, but unfortunately the plan backfired.

On Thursday when the load of sand was dumped on the rocks at the bottom of his garden it started to wash into the Sound, creating a milky slick of particles.

Now Mr. Hanson is hoping the damage will not be too great and the tide will wash the sand away.

"I had intended for the sand to fill in the hollows in the rocks, so people could walk across to the water,'' he said.

"But I have to say I just didn't realise it would be such a mess. I apologise for the mess. Knowing that Harrington Sound is such a unique piece of water, I would be the last person to pollute it in any way.'' Mr. Hanson contacted the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries as soon as the problem became evident. They advised that they didn't think there would be any permanent damage to the Sound.

Luckily he was able to stop any more sand being dumped there and is now waiting for the tide to disperse the material.

"It looks awful today but tomorrow hopefully it won't look so bad,'' he said.

"I shouldn't have done it. I never realised, I was devastated to see what it looked like.'' Aquarium Curator Jack Ward reassurred Mr. Hanson that there would be no permanent damage to the marine environment.

And he said it was quite a common occurrence for sand or grit to be washed into the water, particularly after a rain storm.

"Usually these things don't have any sort of permanent effect. Siltation is a problem that can have a chronic but shortlived impact. The next rain storm will come and wash off any particulates that are coating animals.'' He said a continued washing in of particulates could cause some long term damage but short term run off that follows storms and building work does not upset marine habitats.

The sand from Mr. Hanson's garden will eventually be washed into deeper water, he said.

He added that this particular case was useful to raise awareness with the public on the issue, so future incidents can be minimised.