EMERGENCY services teams had to close off a traffic lane in Evesham when a live electricity cable was exposed after a lorry overturned on to a lamp-post.

Fire crews also had to make hydraulic fluid spilled by the lorry safe before the road could get back to normal.

The articulated vehicle upended on the A46 at Twyford roundabout at around 5.20pm on Tuesday (Sept 3) and was not removed until around 9pm.

It had been travelling from Studley to Pershore, loaded with three and a half tonnes of paper rolls.

Firefighters from the Evesham station were mobilised in two engines, while a third was called from Worcester, although that was sent back before arriving at the accident scene.

"The lorry overturned at the roundabout," said Evesham firefighter, Steve Davies, "It was going round the roundabout and it tilted over."

He added: "The driver was slightly injured but nothing serious." He was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

Fire crew members, who were at the scene for about two hours, used absorbent granules to soak up the hydraulic fluid that had leaked on to the road.

A 40-tonne crane was summoned from Studley to right the overturned lorry, while the paper rolls were taken away on another flatbed lorry. Despite the accident, firefighter Davies said the flow of rush hour traffic was not disrupted too much. "It was flowing pretty freely round it," he added.

West Mercia Constabulary press officer, Kim Stain, said: "The lorry landed on a lamp-post and squashed it and they had to ensure that was safe because the wires were live, so they couldn't move the lorry until they had secured the lamp-post.