Firm blames spillage on speed bumps
VICIOUS speed bumps are to blame for a bus spilling hundreds of litres of diesel fuel onto roads in St Neots, a bus company has said. A fuel pipe at the back of a double-decker Go Whippet service became dislodged in St Neots High Street at about 9.30am
'VICIOUS speed bumps' are to blame for a bus spilling hundreds of litres of diesel fuel onto roads in St Neots, a bus company has said.
A fuel pipe at the back of a double-decker Go Whippet service became dislodged in St Neots High Street at about 9.30am on Monday morning, closing the road for three hours.
The 461 Great Gransden to Little Paxton service had been leaking fuel for about three miles along its route from the A1, past the Barford Road Tesco store and through Eynesbury.
A fuel pipe connecting two fuel tanks eventually came loose in the High Street, outside the Halifax branch, ending the journey for the few passengers on board.
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Peter Lee, managing director of Go Whippet, said: "A fuel tank at the back of the bus was hit at some point - most likely by a speed bump - and as the bus went along a fuel pipe became dislodged.
"In some places councils have really got carried away with speed bumps. They are all different sizes and some are really vicious.
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"We apologise to our customers and to the people of St Neots for the disruption and we will be reminding our drivers to be wary of speed bumps."
The High Street was closed for three hours while the fire brigade cleaned up the mess and special gritters filled with sand were despatched by Cambridgeshire County Council to soak up the fuel. Up to 800 litres of diesel may have been spilt on the road, the fire service said.
A spokesman for CCC said it would be pursuing Go Whippet's insurance company with regard to meeting the cost of the clean-up.
An Environment Agency spokesman said although there was minimal risk to public health, it would be monitoring the River Great Ouse for any impact the fuel may have had.
"Some may have got into surface water drains but, because the spill was dispersed over a wide area, hopefully there will not be any significant problems," the spokesman added.
