UPDATE
Chemical spill in Arthur Street

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CONCERNED residents raised the alarm after spotting liquid nitrogen leaking from a large tank at an engineering factory in Lakeside last night (Sunday).

People living near to Samuel Taylor Ltd in Arthur Street saw the liquefied gas producing a vapour cloud in the cold night air at about 6pm.

Two fire crews attended along with a Hazmat (hazardous materials) officer, the Incident Response Unit from Droitwich and the Environmental Protection Unit from Stourport.

The road was cordoned off for two hours as the crews worked to stop the leak.

Station Commander Steve Fox from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said: “We arrived to find a large liquid nitrogen tank venting at the base.

“We liaised closely with the owners of the factory as we assessed the level of risk and set up a road closure and a cordon around the premises as a precautionary measure.

“We also used information directly from specialist manuals at the premises before sending firefighters in breathing apparatus into the building to isolate the leak.”

There were no injuries and no one was evacuated from the building.

After the isolation valve on the gas storage tank had been closed, the incident was passed in to the hands of a specialist engineer from the company.