A freight train container holding 31 tonnes of the highly corrosive substance benzol chloride started to leak at Harwich International Port.

Fire crews from Dovercourt were sent to the scene of the spill at about 2.30pm on Thursday but found only a small amount of the substance had escaped from the railway tanker.

A spokesman for Dovercourt Fire Station said: "It was only a very minor spill. It seems some of the chemical must have leaked from the hatch at the top and just dribbled down.

"As I understand it, it is corrosive and toxic, not very nice stuff."

The Essex Fire and Rescue chemist was contacted in Chelmsford.

He recommended the two Dovercourt fire crews seal off a 10-metre cordon around the carriage until port staff from Felixstowe could be sent to clear up the hazard.

The spill was dealt with in the port rail head shortly after the freight train arrived.

The fire service spokesman said the carriages were being shunted when liquid was spotted escaping a container.

Harwich International Port has increased the amount of rail freight going through the port from none five years ago to 25 per cent of all freight traffic shipped last year.

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