FIREFIGHTERS say they were nearly hit by speeding vehicles when they dealt with a lorry oil spill on a busy dual carriageway in Whitchurch.

A crew from Whitchurch Fire Station attended the incident on the A40 westbound carriageway just after 3pm yesterday (Wednesday, January 23), and closed off one lane with bollards and a fire engine to deal with the spillage across the centre of the carriageway.

The spill took three hours to clear up, but despite a fireman in a bright hi-vis orange jacket signalling to drivers in the outside lane to slow down, some ignored them and continued to drive fast.

A fire service spokesman later posted online: “It is extremely dangerous to work on live carriageways! When we signal for vehicles to slow down, it’s for your safety and ours. Please #THINK & #SLOWDOWN as some of our crew were nearly hit by speeding drivers ignoring our signals today.”

The spillage was caused by a split engine compartment and a recovery vehicle was called to remove the HGV from the road before firefighers were able to clean up the oil, finishing in darkness around 6pm.