Shock over chemical spill

Residents today spoke of their shock at a chemical spill on a driveway in their quiet West Bromwich road.

Residents in Millfields Road were ordered to shut their windows after the spill last night, which was later discovered to be a non-toxic mixture of thinning liquids and light oils.

Mark Jordan was one of the first to notice the fumes.

“We smelt something first and me and my wife thought it was from the decorators in the houses being built over the back,” said the 44-year-old.

“We didn’t think anything of it at first. My wife went to pick up the kids from school and we saw the stuff coming down from the drive, and when we looked out of the bedroom windows we could see two barrels had been dumped.”

This was about 3.15pm and Mark immediately rang the council.

Paul White, aged 54, saw neighbour Mark who told him to move his car from the driveway where the spillage took place.

“It had run under the car but missed my tyres,” he said. “It’s a good job I moved it because the police told me it would have melted the tyres.”