A CHEMICAL spill caused traffic chaos in Runcorn during rush hour on Monday afternoon.

Police were forced to close part of the Weston Point Expressway and a slip road on to the M56 after 26,000 litres of highly contaminated water leaked from a tanker.

"It was pretty nasty stuff," said Ade Brown, Runcorn fire crew manager, whose red watch supervised the clean-up operation by local specialists TDG.

"A valve on a tanker from Birmingham was leaking but luckily the driver spotted it and pulled over.

"It was a mix of about 10 different chemicals, including petrol, and it just vaporised on the road. The road closures caused havoc in Runcorn but it was justified."

The heavy spillage was reported shortly after 2.30pm.

A section of the A557 and the eastbound slip road on to the M56 near junction 12 were closed until 5pm.

Police say the incident caused 'significant congestion' across Runcorn all afternoon but that the spillage, 'largely water and a one per cent mix of organic chemicals', posed 'no threat to the public or motorists'.

The tanker had travelled up from the Midlands and had picked up its load in south Liverpool.