A CHEMICAL spoil forced the closure of a busy town centre road for 90 minutes today.

The contents of a 180 litre plastic container poured onto Active Way, near the entrance of Sainsbury's in Burnley at 12.30pm.

The concentrated non-hazardous cleaning chemical spilled out from a 40 foot-long articulated wagon.

The leaking substance, said to have the consistency of treacle was cleaned up by firefighters.

An Envirnoment Agency officer was on stand by to offer advice to firefighters at the scene. It is not know what caused the spill.