RUSH hour drivers faced delays after a bus broke down spilling "a river" of diesel on a busy road, yesterday.

A bus taking people to Birmingham started having engine trouble in Oxford Street, Kidderminster, near Morrisons supermarket, at 5.45pm.

When the bus driver got out and checked the engine at the vehicle's rear, diesel started spilling out and along the road towards the mini roundabout.

The driver called Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and firefighters from nearby Castle Road fire station were scrambled.

Tony Wilks, red watch crew manager, initially thought the liquid flowing down the street was water, such was the volume.

He said: "When we got there, there was a flow of diesel coming down.

"It was like a river and I thought it was water at first, there was so much of it."

Firefighters quickly dammed the diesel flow from the engine while police officers shut Oxford Street, just before 6pm.

A special 7-crew environmental firefighter team trained to deal with oil and chemical spills rushed from Stourport to tackle the diesel slick.

Fuel had leaked onto the road from the Morrisons bus stop and along to the mini roundabout with New Road.

Worcestershire County Council road crews were alerted and the bus company's breakdown driver and a mechanic were also called.

Special absorbing granules were spread on the slick, swept up, bagged and taken away by the county council workers for disposal.

The road was reopened at 9.15pm.