Coastguards have confirmed that oil is washing up on the US shoreline for the first time after the BP rig disaster.

Teams tackling the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico reported the presence of oil on a beach of an outlying island off Louisiana.

“We have teams that have confirmed oil on the beach, at the south end of the Chandeleur Islands, at Freemason Island,” coastguard Connie Terrell said.

“This is the first confirmation that Unified Command has received of oil on a shoreline,” she added.

(Source: Sky News)