MOTORISTS found themselves in a sticky situation when a lorry shed its 18-ton load of mango chutney, causing chaos on the roads yesterday morning (Tuesday).
Gallons of the popular Indian condiment spilled onto London Road (A523) by the Adlington bends, leading to major diversions and tailbacks across the area.
The lorry appeared to have got into a pickle and tipped its contents onto the wall and forecourt of the MySpa Clinic.
Police set up roadblocks as they battled to contain the fruity and highly fragrant spillage.
And when our photographer arrived on the scene one officer quipped: "I hope you’ve brought your poppadums!"
But a recovery worker, battling to wade through the chutney which was rapidly covering his lower half, was less impressed saying: "I love mango chutney, but I’m rapidly going off it."
The chutney clogged the A523 in Adlington at 5.16am leaving disbelieving motorists "naan" the wiser and not relishing the tailbacks.
Despite the emergency services trying to preserve commuter flow, traffic chaos ensued after the HGV from F Swain and Son in Adlington, dropped its saucy load.
The road was closed between Mill Lane and Bonis Hall Lane for seven hours until noon causing traffic mayhem on the town’s by-way with several diversions put in place around the accident at the junction between Chester Road and London Road in Poynton and the Silk Road junction with Hibel Road. The knock-on effects were felt in Bollington where traffic was heavily congested from the Pott Shrigley direction.
The driver of the HGV walked away unhurt, but the large metal barrels of chutney, destined for London, destroyed the small wall outside the MySpa clinic, causing worried workers to call Transco when they could smell gas.
After an inspection on the site, Transco discovered a long-standing leak that had remained undetected for months which the clinic thought was dirty drains.
Managing director of MySpa Mary Burney said: "We might start to do mango facials, or we could use it to stick people’s faces back. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but the wall looks a mess – you could say the surgery needs a facelift.
"We always thought the bad smell was the drains and have had them cleaned several times. Turns out it was a gas leak."
A spokesman for F Swain and Sons said: "It’s just one of those things."
The scenes were reminscent of the legendary tale of how Macclesfield gained its nickname of Treacle Town when barrels of the sugary solution fell from a cart in the town centre.
A name change may now be on the cards after this latest twist to the tale!
Source : Macclesfield Express
