A huge mound of animal waste spilled onto a road in Tameside last night with emergency services called to the scene.
The waste covered parts of Park Parade and Scotland Street in Ashton-under-Lyne, near the roundabout at the BT Telephone Exchange. The Manchester Evening News understands the waste spilled from a vehicle after a crash.
The roads had to be closed off while the incident was cleared. Pictures showed a huge pile of waste strewn across the road.
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Several fire fighters were pictured at the scene at around 11pm. At least one fire engine was pictured was blocking the road.
Crews tackled rainy conditions and used specialist equipment to stop the waste from getting into the drains. Council officials were also at the scene.
The road was fully reopened at around 7.30am this morning. In a tweet last night, Tameside Council said: "*** ROAD CLOSURE *** Due to a road traffic incident the BT roundabout / gyratory on the A635 Park Parade in Ashton under Lyne is currently closed in all directions. Please avoid the area and find alternative routes. Thank you."
A further tweet this morning added: "*** ROAD REOPEN *** The incident has been cleared and the BT roundabout junction (A635 Park Parade) is now reopen."
A Tameside Council spokesperson said: "There was a large spillage of animal by-products from a vehicle onto the highway in Dukinfield and Ashton in the late evening of June 7.
"Our out-of-hours staff responded and worked extremely hard into the early hours to arrange for the urgent removal of the waste through specialist contractors and for the affected highways to be cleaned up. Police investigations are ongoing in relation to the incident.
"Several roads were closed during the incident but staff were able to safely reopen the roads in plenty of time to prevent disruption for rush hour traffic the following morning (June 8)."
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: "Last night at around 10:30pm (Tuesday 7 June) we were called to attend an incident on Park Parade, Ashton-under-Lyne, involving a spillage of animal waste onto the roadway.
"Two fire engines from Stalybridge and Ashton fire stations were mobilised to the scene, where firefighters worked alongside colleagues from the council, Greater Manchester Police and North West Ambulance Service to contain the spillage and block drains to mitigate any environmental impacts. Crews were in attendance for around two hours."
