Tyrone village shuts down after spillage destroys street
Tyrone may be hoping to paint the town red and white after Sunday’s All- Ireland football final, but unfortunately someone sprayed one of the county’s villages prematurely in the early hours of yesterday morning — and they didn’t use any paint.
The locals of Aughnacloy awoke to a distinctly agricultural smell in the air and, when they ventured out into the main street, they were greeted with the sight of waste sprayed liberally all along its length — to quote a northern saying, it was “pigging” — literally.
Cars, windows, and doors did not escape the deluge, which is understood to have been a foot deep in places.
Many shops were unable to open for a number of hours due to the foul smell of the waste.
Oh my God, someone drove through Aughnacloy in Co. Tyrone last night and sprayed slurry all over the town 😷😂 pic.twitter.com/c6of0hTzlM
— Caolán Mc Aree (@Caolanmcaree) August 30, 2018
Given the odour and the appearance, many initially assumed a slurry truck had accidentally shed its load.
However, the north’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) was quoted by the BBC as saying it understood the material to be whey — a dairy by-product which is often used as a feed supplement for pigs.
A major clean-up of up to 100m of the road had to be launched, with DAERA saying Environment Agency inspectors were working to ensure that there was no residual risk to water quality in the area.
Material spilled in Aughnacloy main street earlier is whey not slurry. It’s a dairy by-product used in pig feed. Still a bit smelly though pic.twitter.com/rvlnlBpbmL
— conor macauley (@TVconormac) August 30, 2018
Unsurprisingly, the affected area had to be closed off for a number of hours while the clean-up took place.
Local butchers Morrow’s took to Facebook to let its customers know early: “Good morning everyone. Due to a large spillage on the main street and it being so close to the shop, We want to take the most hygienic option and therefore will be closed today. If anything changes later on we will let you know. Take caution as it’s slippy!”
