The jewel in Pembrokeshire’s crown took a frightening temporary tarnish 20 years ago when oil from the Sea Empress hit the beaches of Tenby.

Fears of pollution of the resort’s beaches were finally realised on the Tuesday morning after the spill the previous Thursday evening.

A wind change out in Carmarthen Bay saw the tide bringing the oil to surge into every nook and cranny of the south Pembrokeshire coast.

“ That morning, it seemed as though half of the population of Tenby was standing on the cliff top looking down at the North Beach,” recalled hotelier Chris Osborne.

“Before there was pristine sand and clear water, now we were looking at a big brown mass that just kept on rolling in.

“It was deeply distressing.

"I have never seen Tenby cry like that before.”

The subsequent clean-up operation was “astonishing”, said Mr Osborne, of the Fourcroft Hotel, who recently chaired the Wales Tourism Alliance.

“Six weeks later, you would not have known there had been any oil on the beaches, unless you dug down for it.

“But the damage caused by media publicity went much further.

“People were even cancelling coach tours to North Wales.

“We personally had 10 coaches cancelled, and that was part of our own claim for compensation with the IOPC, but you could only claim if visitors had cancelled, not if they just didn’t come. It was not a good summer.”

That July, Tenby staged the Celtic Nations Watersports Festival to showcase the cleaned-up coastline and was backed by the Wales Tourist Board in appealing to visitors to return to the golden sands.

Maureen Ward, who was mayor of Tenby at the time, has never forgotten her first view of the sea on the morning the oil hit Tenby.

“It was horrendous,” she said. “The water was like treacle and the oil was like glue up the harbour walls.”

Mrs Ward was amongst the legion of local volunteers who helped clean beaches and rescue stricken seabirds.

“I wasn’t doing it because I was mayor, I was doing it because I was a local girl and everyone felt they all had to muck in to help. The community spirit was amazing.”