A FULL-SCALE emergency operation was launched last night when a a tanker carrying a highly inflammable chemical overturned on the Scotch Corner roundabout.

The accident brought chaos to road users. For a while, the A1 northbound and southbound were both closed. The A66 was also shut.

The tanker, containing ethanol, overturned at about 6pm only yards from the Scotch Corner Hotel, which at one point was on standby to evacuate guests.

One of the vehicle's tanks ruptured, leaving ethanol smoking and leaking on to the road, but to the relief of firefighters it failed to catch fire.

Assistant manager at the hotel, Chris Pickles said: "It was a bit dicey for a bit, firefighters asked us how many people we had because they were thinking of carrying out an evacuation. I thought the hotel was in for a face-lift."

The driver, who escaped with a slight neck injury, was pulled to safety by two quick-thinking guests who rushed to help.

Firefighters spent hours at the scene clearing the road and by late evening had decanted the ethanol into another tanker and removed the damaged vehicle from the scene.

A fire service spokesman at the scene said: "If this lot went up there would be a very big bang.

"It could still happen, so we will be staying here to the end and will supervise while the tanker is being lifted away."

There were no other vehicles involved in the accident and police are investigating the cause.