Explosive liquid started to leak from a petrol tanker which left an icy road and overturned into a ditch.
The vehicle was travelling along Bentley Road in Weeley when the accident happened.
Emergency services at the scene of the tanker accident
It was carrying about 3,500 litres of kerosene which started to leak on to nearby fields after it ended up on its side.
Police blocked off the road to traffic for several hours and three crews of firefighters were called out in case the liquid caught fire.
Two appliances from Clacton and one from Weeley went to the scene just after 10am yesterday to help make the area safe.
An Essex Fire Service spokesman said the tanker appeared to have skidded on the icy surface and lost control.
It is not known how much kerosene leaked out into the watercourse but the Environment Agency was also called out to deal with the spillage.
Published Wednesday, January 8, 2003
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