1967 Press Photo Claring Iron FIllings, M5, Worcestershire

Starting a slow crawl on the M5. After Lorry spills filings for 25 miles.: The two men in the picture know what its like to be in a crawl on the motorway. They were among the 40 workmen called in to clear thousands of iron fillings which dropped from a lorry on the southbound carriage way of the M5 in Worcestershire. Two motorists had telephoned for help at 4 a.m. when they came to a stop on the motorway with five punctures between them. A breakdown service promised to get to the stranded drivers as quickly as possible. But before reaching them the breakdown lorry broke down. With a puncture. Investigations showed that 25 miles of the southbound lane was strawn with iron filings. So the workmen - and six mechanical sweepers - were called in. The work of clearing the filings was held up, because several of the sweeping machines had been temporarily put out of action - with puncture.

Photo measures 10.25 x 8 inches.

Photo is dated 9-7-1967.

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