Crashes, bashes and near-misses reported after 'large oil spill' across Jersey roads

A rainbow-coloured oil stain behind the rear of a vehicle…
Motorists reported skidding around roads in St Helier, St John and St Mary. Credit: PA

Road-cleaning crews have spent the day on the trail of a leaking vehicle which left a 'large oil spill' covering large parts of the island.

Jersey Police first reported the fuel spillage on La Grande Route de St Jean, just outside the St Helier Parish Works at 8:20am on Thursday 13 October.

Several hours later, at 3:30pm, officers advised motorists that the fuel had spread to other streets around the centre of St Helier - including La Motte Street, Springfield, Val Plaisant, St Saviour's Road, and Stopford Road.

Jersey Police issued repeated pleas for islanders to contact the Infrastructure Department directly to have the roads cleaned. Credit: ITV Channel Television

Jersey Police added that anyone wanting to report more areas of concern should contact the Infrastructure Department directly.

Islanders took to social media to share areas of the island where accidents and near-misses happened.

One mum describes how she nearly crashed with her children in the car, saying "I thought we weren't going to be able to stop" and that she "was mentally working out where was the safest place to crash".

Another reported seeing several cyclists and motorbike riders crashing.

Jersey Police have told ITV News three road traffic collisions were reported to them with a dozen calls to 999 from islanders concerned about the slippery road surface.

The offending vehicle is known to have headed northbound on Queen's Road, with some motorists saying roads in the rural parishes of St John and St Mary were also affected.

Roads affected by the oil spill which are yet to be cleaned up should be reported to Jersey's Infrastructure Department on 01534 725351 and pressing option 1.