Now that’s a road smash! Town centre brought to a standstill as lorry spills tons of mashed potato on busy junction

Lorry crashed in Henley-on-Thames spilling its load across the bridge



Emergency services were told it was 'chemical waste' and was 'bubbling'



Was then established that the substance was in fact mashed potato



The potato was being transported to be used in animal feed



Road was closed for three hours until the potato was cleaned up



A busy town centre was brought to a standstill after chemicals spilling from a lorry actually turned out to be mashed potato.



Twenty firefighters along with police and an ambulance were called to Henley Bridge in Henley-on-Thames following a report that a lorry had crashed and spilled its load.



A member of the public told the emergency services that 'chemical waste', which was 'bubbling' was covering the road outside the Angel on the Bridge pub, which overlooks the River Thames.



Henley Bridge in Henley-on-Thames was sealed off following reports of a lorry spilling chemicals. However, it turned out to be just mashed potato

A member of the public told the emergency services that they could see 'chemical waste' bubbling on the road

The town centre and the bridge wer sealed off for three hours, causing traffic chaos as drivers sought alternative routes.



However, it was eventually established that the substance was in fact mashed potato that was due to be used in animal feed.



Fire brigade commander Bob Speakman said: 'We sent our normal pre-determined attendants for a chemical incident as we didn't know what we were dealing with.



'The lorry came across from the Berkshire side of the river and turned left. It's a very tight bend and he lost some of his load there.'



The bridge and Henley town centre was sealed off for three hours causing traffic chaos

A recovery team was eventually dispatched to the scene so they could scrape up the potato and hose down the road

A recovery team was then dispatched to scrape the mashed potato from the road and hose it down.



Mark Dunlop, landlord of the Angel on the Bridge pub, said 'It was a hell of a mess out there.

'It was obviously the worst place it could happen in the town, on the crossroads over the bridge.'



To alleviate the traffic congestion, local boat firm Hobbs of Henley ferried about 100 stranded people across the river free of charge while the bridge was close.



Pensioner Frederick Nead, 77, from nearby Charvil, got off a bus that was stuck in the traffic and walked half a mile to the river where he caught the boat.