Traffic ground to a halt yesterday after a truck carrying carpet glue spilled its load in Paget.

The 15 five-gallon drums of adhesive came tumbling off the side of a Bermuda Forwarders truck at about 2.15 p.m. on Middle Road, next to Paget Marsh.

It narrowly missed a number of cars, but left a splatter of mess on the road surface that brought traffic to a gridlock for about 40 minutes.

The driver of the truck was visibly shaken by the ordeal and declined to comment, but other motorists told how they were travelling along the busy road when the containers of glue began to topple.

Lucas Spence, from Southampton, said he was travelling west behind the Bermuda Forwarders truck when he became concerned.

"I saw that the pots were leaning over and I started to worry," said Mr. Spence.

"I was just about to blow my horn to get the truck driver's attention when they all just came down into the road.

"One fell onto the front of my car and cracked the bumper, and I have some of the glue splattered right underneath my car, but I don't think there was any more damage.

"I got a bit of a shock, but I was really taken with all the colour as the glue came down. It looked so pretty."

And Carol Trott was travelling in the opposite direction when the adhesive spilled into the road - right into her path.

She said: "The truck came around the bend in the road and I could see the containers leaning. They started to go over, so I just stopped. It splashed up to my car, but luckily it's not all over it.

"It was the last thing I expected."

And Ray Emmery, whose daughter was driving his car when the load toppled, said he was concerned for his brand new Renault.

"I think I'm going to have to get a power cleaner to get this glue off quickly before it dries," he said.

Craig Simons, of Rock and Dirt Excavation, said he was caught up in the traffic jam that followed the spill and decided to get out and help with the sticky situation.

He said he suggested one of the glue-spattered cars be moved out of the road to enable some traffic to pass, and then suggested sand from a nearby truck be scattered over the adhesive.

He said: "I was caught up in the traffic and thought they needed some assistance in decision-making. People were just standing around.

"We put sand down, so at least some of the traffic has been able to move, albeit at a slow pace.

"Luckily, I think it's not going to be too strong a glue."

Firefighters were called to the scene later in the afternoon to flush the glue away, and the road was back in order at about 4.20 p.m.