Road closed in alert over chemicals (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Road closed in alert over chemicals

A NORTH Cotswold road was closed for more than three hours last following a chemical spillage alert.

Police closed the road at the junction of Mill View and Station Road, Blockley, after pedestrians found two cans of unknown chemicals, which had spilled onto the road surface after falling from the back of a truck.

Fire crews were summoned to deal with the chemicals at about 3.30pm last Thursday.

Eventually the contents of the two cans - which were about the size of buckets - were identified as Epikuredx, a substance used in the building trade to put on floors prior to tiling.

Although the cans stated that the contents were hazardous and should not be touched or inhaled, the substance was not as harmful as was first feared.

County highways workers were called in to clear up the spillage and the road re-opened at 6.50pm.

It is believed that the driver of the truck was unaware that the cans had fallen onto the road and drove on.

The emergency caused some traffic problems locally and delayed school buses in the area.