Spillage closes road

ONE carriageway of a key North East route will remain shut into next week.

The eastbound carriageway of the A1231 was closed following a major lorry spillage on Thursday morning.

Sunderland City Council said the section of the road between the Mill House roundabout near the A1 and the A182 Washington Highway is still unsafe to drive on and extremely slippery.

A crash with a car caused an oil-like substance to pour from the lorry onto a half mile section of the road.

Although the substance is not dangerous, the “extent and complexity of the recovery operation” has led the owners of the lorry to hire a specialist company to clean up. The liquid is a by-product of the leather tanning process and it is unclear how long the clean-up will take. Coun Amy Wilson, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “Public safety is paramount and at this stage it just isn’t safe to reopen the road. Despite extensive work to remove the bulk of the waste, the road remains extremely slippery.”