Chickens on the run cause traffic chaos in Warrington

TRAFFIC in Warrington came to a standstill this morning following an accident on the M62 which involved a lorry crashing and spilling thousands of live chickens on the carriageway.
Congestion on Manchester Road was made worse by road works taking place on Padgate Lane.
The Chickens spilled on to the M62 in the early hours of today, near Eccles Interchange, Manchester.
Birds in crates were flung across the lanes and The eastbound carriageway was shut between junction 11 (Birchwood) and junction 12 (M60 Eccles Interchange) since 4.15am.
An estimated 1,500 of the 6,800 chickens being transported were killed when the lorry crashed into a safety barrier on the M62.
Most died from the impact of the crash but some were hit by cars, police added.
Michael Clarke, from the Highways Agency, said about 2,000 chickens “escaped on to the carriageway” and had to be recaptured.
He said: “We drafted in as much manpower as we could from across the north west, and we had help from the police, the emergency services and the RSPCA,” he said.
He described the incident as “unusual” in terms of the sheer number of birds involved.
“The more adventurous ones did manage to go quite far – I would suspect there are a handful still in adjacent fields,” he added.
The agency is assessing damage caused to safety barriers.
Picture: Traffic comes to a standstill on Manchester Road.