People Told To Keep Windows Shut

12 August 2011, 10:32 | Updated: 12 August 2011, 10:55

A chemical spill on Thursday 11 August 2011 led to people living near a factory being told to keep their windows closed overnight.

Fire crews from Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Hitchin and Baldock were among those called out to deal with what happened at the factory in Newark Close, Royston, Hertfordshire on the Thursday evening.

Hertfordshire's Fire and Rescue Service say the spill was due to overheating.  Three hundred litres of a toxic substance created from mixing two chemicals had leaked from a container.

The Fire Service took their chemical decontamination unit with them to the scene, and firefighters wearing gas tight suits tackled the problem.  Those firefighters who went in to deal with the spill were decontaminated when they came out.

Nearby businesses had to be evacuated as a precaution.  People living in the nearby area were also advised to keep their windows closed overnight on Thursday - again as a precaution - because of the toxicity of what had been produced by the spill.

We're told no-one was injured as a result of the spillage.