A1 closed in poison scare as man dies and 999 crew in hospital

Apr 8 2009 by Sara Nichol, The Journal

A MAN died and six emergency service crew were taken to hospital after coming into contact with industrial mole poison.

Police yesterday said they were called to a popular north Northumberland beauty spot after a member of the public found a man collapsed and seriously ill, a few feet away from a vehicle.

Officers inspected the white Ford Fiesta, which was parked over-looking Cocklawburn Beach, near Scremerstan, Berwick.

Inside the vehicle, they discovered a metal container that appeared to be omitting a noxious gas.

The man, who has not yet been identified, died in an ambulance en-route to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Monday night. Paramedics then pulled over on the A1 near Newcraighall, Scotland, and a decision was made to decontaminate four Northumbria Police officers and the two ambulance crew members at the scene.

A section of the A1 was closed for five hours while the Special Operations Response Team was called in to carry out the decontamination process.

The woman and five men from the emergency services were taken to hospital for observation, where they stayed overnight until being discharged.

The area surrounding the beach was last night still cordoned off while specialists were brought in to dispose of the canister.

Police stressed that the toxic gas, believed to be Phostoxin - a commercial poison used by gardeners and farmers to kill moles - poses no direct threat to the public or livestock, as the risk of contamination is limited to direct exposure.