UPDATE: Man charged following chemical spill in Creeting St Mary

A man has been charged with careless driving and driving a dangerous insecure load following a potentially hazardous spill which closed a road in Creeting St Mary for more than eight hours yesterday.

Officers stopped a curtain-sided Mercedes lorry on the roundabout at the A140/A14 interchange at around 9.10am on Tuesday, June 23.

They reported seeing a 1,000 litre container fall off the lorry and leak a hazardous substance, a solution of the chemical Acrylamide, on to a verge in Kettle Lane.

The 43-year-old man, Kestutis Rakevicius, from Kaunas in Lithuania, will now appear before Ipswich Magistrates this morning.

A police spokeswoman said later the chemical in pure form, ‘can be quite dangerous as it can be a carcinogenic and can cause tumours’, but in this case was diluted in a water solution so was safer.

Drivers were reminded to obey the road closure so the fire service and EA can could clear up the spill.

The road reopened at around 5.20pm.