RM staff treated after Colchester depot 'chemical incident'

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Royal Mail staff treated after Colchester depot 'chemical incident'

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Ten Royal Mail staff members have been treated by paramedics after a "chemical incident" at an Essex depot.

Emergency services were called to the site in Moorside, Colchester, at 03:30 BST following reports of a "strong smell of chemicals", Essex Police said.

Fire crews said one possible cause could be diesel in the River Colne. The Environment Agency is investigating.

Three people were taken to hospital with "minor ailments" from inhaling fumes, the ambulance service said.

A spokeswoman for the East of England Ambulance Service said they had been treated for headaches and sore throats, with seven other patients released "as walking wounded".

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said the cause of the "chemical incident" was still not known, but it was not thought to have originated from the company's site.

Gary Jeffrey, of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, said the incident was being treated as a "hazardous material event".

He said that the situation was "contained and under control" and crews had found "no signs of any dangerous chemicals in the air".

A number of roads in Colchester were closed to allow emergency services to deal with the situation.

Royal Mail apologised for possible disruption to local delivery services as a result of the incident.