Sorry I was late ... I was stuck in traffic

Saturday 23 February 2013

A LORRYLOAD of glue poured down a road after the vehicle crashed when its driver swerved to avoid hitting a petrol station.

STICKY SITUATION: Council and emergency services staff had to wade through a river of spilled glue after a lorry jack-knifed in Dumfries and Galloway. The accident is thought to have happened when the vehicle's driver swerved to avoid a garage. Picture: HE Media

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Bob Geddes

The crash sent 15,000 litres of glue spilling over the trunk road and a garage forecourt.

Vehicles were stuck on both sides of the accident and firefighters, council workmen and police had to wade through the glue as it ran down the road and into the Burnside Filling station on the outskirts of Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway.

The glue on the A76 Dumfries-to-Kilmarnock road was up to six inches thick in places and emergency crews brought in grit to try to deal with the problem.One man who lives nearby was awakened by the noise of the crash at 5.30am. Lawrie Roberts looked out and saw his car covered in glue. He said: "I just heard a bang and saw this liquid about six inches thick heading towards the front of the house."It came right up to the front doorstep of the house and the car was covered in it. I don't know how we'll get it cleaned up."Anne Williamson, 57, who runs the garage and filling station with her husband William, said: "We've been told we have to clean up the mess ourselves."It appears the lorry hit a traffic island and was then heading for the garage and petrol pumps. "But the driver seems to have managed to swerve and the lorry jack-knifed, just missing the garage."It could have been an absolute disaster, although it's bad enough. "They were trying to clean up the road with grit at first, but how they'll get rid of the glue we don't know."She added: "It was a curtain-sided lorry but the glue was in a very flimsy container. It was just like paper and you could have burst it easily. "It just all ran out. Unfortunately for us, it came out on the garage side. The other side of the curtain wasn't burst."Firefighters from Thornhill and Sanquhar were called to the scene to make the area safe and road workers were brought in to try to stop the glue spreading. Schoolchildren were able to reach the nearby Sanquhar Academy and Primary school by taking detours.A Dumfries and Galloway Police spokesman said: "We are appealing to motorists to keep clear of the area, which is likely to be closed off for some time. The glue container on the lorry burst and glue spilling is affecting the road surface. Road diversions are being put in place."The lorry driver, who did not want to comment, was unhurt in the accident.Meanwhile, one man was thrown from a car and another trapped inside after the vehicle they were in came off the road.Emergency crews were called to the scene on Edinburgh Road near Newhouse, North Lanarkshire, at 10.30am.It is understood that the site of the crash was outside Holytown Parish Church.A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service said: "We received a call from the police with a report of a car off the road."Two fire engines from Coatbridge were sent. They found one adult male trapped and a second adult male thrown from the car."Both men have suspected spinal and internal injuries. Spinal boards were used to remove them and place them in the care of the ambulance service."The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed that it had taken two people to Monklands Hospital in Airdrie.

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