M6 Lancaster Services reopens after 12-hour chemical spill clean-up

Lancaster Services on the northbound M6 reopened at 1am after a 12-hour closure due to an earlier chemical spill.
The cause of the spill at Lancaster Services has not yet been confirmed but it is understood to have originated in a container being transported by a lorry.The cause of the spill at Lancaster Services has not yet been confirmed but it is understood to have originated in a container being transported by a lorry.
The cause of the spill at Lancaster Services has not yet been confirmed but it is understood to have originated in a container being transported by a lorry.

Highways England had previously warned motorists that the northbound services were unlikely to reopen before 10am on Tuesday (February 5) after a chemical spillage on the car park.

At 12.24pm, a lorry driver pulled into the M6 services and reported a leak from a container he had been transporting.

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Police and Highways officers responded by evacuating the car park and closing the services for 12 hours.

Traffic was turned away from the services, located between junctions 32 (Preston, A6) and 33 (Lancaster, A6), as a clean-up operation was launched.

It is not clear what the chemical liquid is, but a specialist clean-up crew was required to treat the spillage, which had been described as "significant".

Police also requested the attendance of emergency services, including three fire engines.

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Chemical spillage from lorry forces closure of Lancaster Services on M6
The cause of the spill at Lancaster Services has not yet been confirmed but it is understood to have originated in a container being transported by a lorry.The cause of the spill at Lancaster Services has not yet been confirmed but it is understood to have originated in a container being transported by a lorry.
The cause of the spill at Lancaster Services has not yet been confirmed but it is understood to have originated in a container being transported by a lorry.
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North West Ambulance Service confirmed it had despatched an operational commander to the scene to assist with the clean-up operation.

But a spokesman confirmed that no injuries had been reported at the scene.

Garstang’s fire engine and crew remained on site to await collection of the bagged residue of the spillage for safe disposal.

A spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: "The driver of a lorry parked up at the service station alerted emergency services to a liquid chemical leak from a container on his vehicle.

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"Firefighters from Garstang, Bispham and South Shore have attended and a cordon set up around the vehicle, with the Northbound services closed temporarily until the incident has been dealt with.

"There are no casualties and firefighters are containing the spillage ready for safe disposal."