Firefighters acted quickly to prevent serious environmental damage after hundreds of litres of diesel spilled from a car transporter, writes Madeleine Pennell.

The transporter, on the A34 between Botley and Hinksey, Oxford, suffered a major leak after driving over a 3ft metal spike which pierced the fuel tank yesterday.

Nearby cars were sprayed with diesel as the tank was pierced.

The transporter, which was delivering Toyota cars to France, pulled in to a layby near the South Hinksey turning and the emergency services were called. An estimated 500 litres of diesel went down a drain in the layby, from which water normally flows into a nearby ditch.

Two fire crews and a specialist environmental protection unit used equipment including absorbent pads designed to soak up liquids such as diesel from the Environment Agency to clear up the ditch and prevent any risk of pollution to the water supply.

The area surrounding the leak was covered in sand and more of the absorbent pads. David Etheridge, Assistant Divisional Fire Officer said: "Undoubtedly the partnership with the Environment Agency has paid dividends because it has quite clearly stopped an environmental accident. Without our prompt attendance and the Environment Agency's equipment, this incident would have been an awful lot worse."

The Environment Agency will now monitor rivers and streams in the area to make sure they have not been polluted by the spillage.

Police said the road was closed for an hour, which caused long tailbacks.