HOMES were evacuated and a road sealed off after the ground collapsed beneath a lorry carrying flammable liquid.

The front nearside wheel of the tanker, loaded with 7,500 litres of kerosene, fell down a 3ft deep hole over an old culvert below Burnley Road, Edenfield.

Lorry driver David Hickling, 52, was delivering the kerosene to a house down a lane off Burnley Road when the incident happened at 10.30am yesterday.

Mr Hickling, of Shaw, near Oldham, said: "I heard a bang and stopped. I literally saw the road collapse beneath me." He contacted his bosses at Shell Direct's Trafford Park depot, and they contacted the emergency services.

Sergeant Russell Gregory, of the road policing unit at Colne, said: "It would appear there is an underground culvert dating back some time.

"There was no leak but the contents were hazardous due to their explosive nature.

"We are very fortunate that it did not happen in a busy area."

The vehicle was lifted out by a specialist recovery company.

Petrol pumps at the Elf service station at the junction of Burnley Road and Blackburn Road were closed down as a safety precaution.

Several fire crews attended, including the environmental protection unit from Burnley and the major incident support unit from Preston. Other crews came from Greater Manchester, Rawtenstall and Ramsbottom.

Assistant divisional officer Neville Earnshaw, based at Burnley, said: "There was quite a chasm. We took the decision to decant the contents of the tanker to another vehicle before moving the tanker."

Council officers were examining the scene today and repairs are due to start tomorrow.

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