Where can you find raw human sewage, 6,000 chickens and melamine formaldehyde resin and phosphoric acid all in one place? The answer, (here's hoping there is only one) is the strategic road network in England.
Following 24 tonnes of lard being spilled on the M11, Highways England has revealed some of the strangest items ever spilled on its roads.
Seeing as its Friday, what kind of a recipe do you think this is?
• Raw human sewage
• 6,000 chickens
• Hundreds of tins of baked beans
• 20 tonnes of Marmite
• Thousands of lager cans
• 10 tonnes of salmon
• Melamine formaldehyde resin and phosphoric acid
• Animal blood
• Refrigerated liquid oxygen
• Powdered cement
Highways England are quick to point out that 'in every case, highways teams have worked quickly, and under pressure, to remove debris, clean the road, and fix damage before safely reopening the carriageway to drivers'.
This even happens when 'thousands of items had to be picked up by hand after spreading across several lanes of the motorway'.
Melanie Clarke, director of customer operations at Highways England, explained: 'Our role is to ensure we clear incidents quickly, and keep traffic moving to minimise delays. We work closely with the emergency services, in challenging circumstances, to try to keep drivers moving after an incident.
'Our teams expect the unexpected, but of course, when you’re dealing with ten tonnes of salmon, dangerous toxic chemicals, or emulsion paint, the clean-up operation is somewhat complicated.'
