Bythorn: A14 Fuel Spillage

10 January 2013, 10:13 | Updated: 10 January 2013, 18:56

A big section of the A14 was closed for more than 12 hours due to an overturned tanker and fuel spillage.

At 6.30am this morning (Thursday 10th January) emergency services were called to an overturned tanker on the A14 westbound between Catworth and Keyston. 

Seven ambulances attended, including three from the hazardous area response team.

A tanker carrying the biofuel ethanol had overturned.

The A14 was quickly closed both ways between Junction 21, the Brampton Hut turn off and Junction 13 for Thrapston. 

Diversions were put in place, however these quickly became congested with lengthy delays reported through the day.

The east-bound carriageway of the A14 re-opened at around 5pm, however the west-bound section was not open to traffic again until around 6:45pm.

A spokesperson from The East of England Ambulance Service said:"All emergency crews worked very well in difficult circumstances as potentially harmful chemicals were leaking from the tanker."

Crews treated a man in his 40s with a non-serious head injury and transported him to Hinchingbrooke Hospital for further treatment."

Callum Faint, Station Commander at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Firefighters arrived to discover the tanker on its side, with an ethonel substance leaking from it.

Crews used absorbant granules and an environmental grab pack to cover the nearby drains to stop the leaking liquid from entering the drains."

The Environment Agency was also called to assist with the clean-up operation.

*Photos from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.