A RECYCLING truck had to be driven off a busy main road after catching fire near the town centre this morning.

The van carrying cardboard for recycling came to a halt on the slip road off St Peter’s Way near Raikes Lane just before 9.50am when the driver realised it was burning.

Two fire engines attended just before 10am and the road was cordoned off to traffic with the help of police and Bolton Council workers.

Crews battled the flames by breaking through the side of the truck and standing on its roof after its hydraulics failed and the back would not open.

However, after an hour it became clear they needed to force the crushing mechanism open to reach the source of the fire.

Firefighters decided to drive the vehicle 600 meters along the road to the nearby recycling tip for help.

Crew manager Carl Gleaves said the crew was also concerned that the sight could have caused an accident with drivers taking their eye off the road to watch.

He said: “We had to remove it from the road because there was diesel spilling out and smoke and steam covering St Peter’s Way. It was quite a spectacle so it was becoming a risk.

“It was packed around five to six feet-high with cardboard - there was a significant amount of rubbish - and flames were coming out of the top.

“We managed to get it under some control, but there was a significant amount of smoke, and we drove it while it was on fire to the tip.

“They were very good to us and very happy to help. They used their equipment to open and empty the vehicle so we could get the fire out.”

The driver of the truck – operated by Veolia Environmental Services in Bury – was unharmed but the cause of the fire is not yet known.

Firefighters were at the industrial estate for around 40 minutes and thanked the team at Viridor Waste, who run the tip, for their help and support.