ANIMAL intestines caused an "offal" stink after they spilled from a lorry on to a busy road in Lincoln.

The drama unfolded in Doddington Road, near the junction of Swallowbeck Avenue, forcing residents and passing motorists to hold their noses.

One resident said he understood the mess ran down the sides of the vehicle after the lorry driver braked heavily to avoid a collision.

A large rip could be seen at the front of the tarpaulin covering the trailer from which waste oozed out.

The blue Man lorry bore the livery of A Hughes and Son (Skellingthorpe) Ltd, which is involved in animal by-product rendering at its base in Skellingthorpe.

Police directed traffic around the scene and workers arrived in a van to shovel up the spillage.

Driving instructor Lee Farrington, 34, said it was a dreadful smell.

"The waste was just pouring down the sides of the lorry all over the road," said Mr Farrington, of Maple Street, Bracebridge, Lincoln.

"I think the lorry was on its way from the knackers' yard.

"The offal absolutely stunk."

Doddington Road resident David Ratcliffe, a retired builder, said he too drove past the stricken lorry.

He said: "The waste was all over the road. I had the air conditioning on in the car, so thankfully I did not smell anything at all.

"It's a good job the spillage didn't happen as a cyclist went past as they would have got covered in it."

Other residents said lorries were often passing through on the way to the rendering plant and this was very much a one-off incident.

The spillage was reported to Lincolnshire Police as a traffic hazard just before 4pm yesterday.

Lincolnshire County Council highways department said they were not involved in the clear up.

No-one from A Hughes and Son (Skellingthorpe) Ltd, based at Jerusalem Farm, was available for comment last night.

The company processes animal by-products into meat and bone meal to generate electricity as an alternative to fossil fuels, and tallow, or fat, to power boilers instead of oil.

It also recycles used cooking oil as greener fuel alternatives.

Its website states: "The company operates fully automated continuous processes for the efficient treatment of animal by-products and food waste to meet the requirements of the UK and European Animal By-Product Regulations.

"We are one of the longest established companies within the animal by-product rendering and used cooking oil processing sectors with more than 80 years' experience."