Tomato puree spill on A14 after lorry crash results in ‘horror film’ scenes

A 23-mile stretch between Cambridge and Brampton was closed after a spillage of tomato puree and olive oil

A stretch of the A14 in Cambridgeshire was closed for emergency resurfacing after the tomato puree spillage (PA)

A 23-mile stretch of major road was forced to close after a lorry crash spilled tomato puree across the tarmac, leaving scenes like a “horror film”.

A collision between two lorries near the Offord junction on the westbound carriageway of the A14 from Cambridge to Brampton led to huge delays as the road was shut down for emergency repairs between Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon.

Cambridgeshire police tweeted: “What looked like the set of a horror film was actually thousands of squashed tomatoes.

“The incident on the A14 at Godmanchester yesterday evening involved two jack-knifed lorries, including one carrying tons of olive oil and tomatoes.”

The Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire roads policing unit confirmed there were two vehicles involved.

One driver was injured but not seriously, police said. The driver was later discharged from hospital, BBC news reported.

An investigation into the incident was ongoing, the unit said.

The scene was the subject of jokes on social media.

One Twitter user posted: “Did they bruschetta it off the road and I went passatta that too.”

Another said: “I went pasta that. Took a while for the traffic to ketchup.”

Ahead of the road being reopened, a spokesperson for Highways England said: “Emergency resurfacing work is taking place where the incident occurred around 7.10pm yesterday evening, involving two HGVs, one of which lost its load and damaged the carriageway.”