Huntingdon Tanker Crash

21 January 2011, 12:46 | Updated: 21 January 2011, 17:43

Residents of part of Huntingdon are being advised to stay inside, with doors and windows closed, after a tanker carrying flammable liquid crashed.

The tanker was involved in a crash with a lorry on the approach to the Spittals Interchange at around 11am.

The vehicle was carrying ethanol, which is now leaking.

As a result, the following roads have been closed by Cambridgeshire Police while firefighters work to stem the leak:

• A141 to A14 in both directions
• A14 west-bound at Godmanchester
• A1 southbound junction with A1M Alconbury
• A14 east-bound at Brampton Hut

A 200 metre exclusion zone has been set up around the tanker due the extremely flammable nature of the liquid.

The driver of the lorry involved in the crash, a man, was quickly released from the cab and taken to hospital by accident.

Firefighters plan to empty as much liquid as possible from the damaged tanker, and transfer it into a new tanker, before cleaning up the carriageway.

Paul Clark, from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Because of the volatile nature of the liquid, we need to make sure that we don't create any sparks as we're physically pulling the vehicles apart, and that's why we're having to close the road for so long.

We totally understand the disruption that this is causing but we just ask for people to remain patient with us.

We will get the road open as quickly as we can but clearly this is quite a serious incident and we need to deal with it safely."

People who live in the following streets in Huntingdon are being asked to stay in their homes by Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service:

• Provence Road
• Blethan Drive
• Greendale
• Boretree Way
• Brigland Close

Police officers are carrying out mobile patrols around the residential area to give advice to residents.

At 1:45pm, a Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said the road closures are likely to be in place for up to seven hours.