Almost 1,000 litres of vegetable oil spilled across a busy Wednesbury roundabout, causing chaos for motorists.

Parkway Island in the town was closed for three hours after the side cover of a lorry ripped open and 36 drums of oil fell out onto the road.

The accident happened at the roundabout where Leabrook Road meets the A41 Black Country New Road at 7.10pm last night.

The junction was closed as council workers used shovels and a gritter to spread four tons of sand over the area affected and police were drafted in to direct traffic along alternative routes.

A fire crew from Tipton was also called in to help with the operation.

Firefighter Mark Avery, from Tipton fire station, said: “There were about 36 drums of vegetable oil and each drum had 25 litres.

“The highways authority came and dumped loads of sand on it and part of the road had to be closed while they were doing it.”

Police today confirmed that all the oil had been cleared by 9pm.

Despite this the road remained closed until 10pm to ensure the surface was safe.

Today hazard signs were placed at the roundabout warning motorists about the slippery surface.

Councillor Mahboob Hussain, who has responsibility for Sandwell roads, said: “We responded to an emergency call out from the police to attend to the spillage at approximately 7.15pm.

“Two council operatives attended and put four tons of sand on the road to soak up the oil.

“The sand was applied with the aid of a gritter as well as by hand.

“The whole sanding operation took approximately three hours to do and during this time the police had the road and island closed to traffic.”