FIREFIGHTERS spent five hours trying not to spill the beer after a tanker carrying 24,000 litres of booze overturned on a busy dual carriageway.

It trapped the driver and caused misery for rush hour motorists.

The tanker overturned on the A56 near the Little Chef restaurant at Rising Bridge at 4pm yesterday.

The northbound side of the road was closed for six and a half hours as emergency services cleared the debris.

Driver Norman Barker, 58, from Llanrwst, North Wales, was trapped under the vehicle by his arm.

He was taken to Burnley General Hospital for treatment after firefighters used high pressure airbags to free him.

His condition was today described as "stable".

A damage control unit with specialised clean-up equipment on board stood by as the fire crew mounted a five-hour operation to right the tanker without rupturing the tank and flooding the road. Oil from the vehicle's engine spilled over the road and was cleared up by firefighters.

The tanker belongs to Carmarthen-based firm Geraint Evans.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "It seems the vehicle simply fell over."

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