BRITISH lawyers representing a Nigerian community allegedly blighted by oil pipeline leaks said yesterday that they would meet industry giant Shell in a bid to reach agreement.

A legal action has been brought against Shell in relation to claims by 15,000 residents of the Bodo community in Nigeria’s Niger delta after two major pipeline leaks in 2008.

“The result of these leaks was an environmental catastrophe for the Bodo community and the biggest loss of mangrove habitat in the history of oil spills,” said Martyn Day of Leigh Day solicitors, which is representing the claimants.