A tanker carrying 800 litres of diesel began to spill its load when it was punctured by the arms of a forklift truck.

The Dutch lorry was being unloaded at Rochester Airport Industrial Estate in Maidstone Road at 9.30am this morning.

But a mishap by the forklift driver saw the prongs of the vehicle plunged into the cylinder of the oil tanker.

The diesel quickly began to gush through the hole and it was all hands to the tanker to try to stop the leak.

Firefighters were called in as people desperately grabbed at materials to plug the hole and held them in place until the crews arrived, but not before it had oozed across the ground and towards the drains.

One of the crew attending said: "We managed to fill the hold with some sealing clay and secured it all with racket straps.

"We emptied sand over the oil on the road and blocked the drains to prevent any contamination.

"The environmental health team have been informed of the situation.

"The site management team responded quickly and did a good job of preventing the load from spilling completely."

The road was shut off temporarily and crews left the scene at about 11am.