Nine people were treated by paramedics and firefighters spent five hours cleaning up following a chemical spill in Pool yesterday afternoon.

Fire, police and ambulance crews were called to Dudnance Lane just after 1pm after a forklift lorry punctured a 500 litre drum of what was thought to be bleach at a laundry works.

A police spokesperson at the time said: "The public are advised to avoid the area for the time being but it is not thought that the incident poses a wider risk to public health."

Nine people were treated by ambulance crews after complaining of minor eye irritation, and the road was closed at East Hill until the spill had been safely cleared by the fire service, at around 6pm.