10:32am Wednesday 7th May 2008
By Carol Emmas
Traffic chaos descended upon both sides of the Mersey on Tuesday when both the Wallasey and Birkenhead tunnels were closed after two separate incidents occured simultaneously.
A fire on New Chester Road in Birkenhead and an apparent suicide attempt near the entrance of the Kingsway tunnel in Wallasey were the cause of the traffic gridlock which lasted for over three hours.
At 3.30pm fire services were called to the blaze at Staniford Ltd which is thought to have been caused through an electrical fault.
The hazardous material team, who deal with chemical incidents, also attended after re-conditioned industrial drums and a large quantity of plastic containers were alight.
It took ten fire crews an hour and a half to dampen down the blaze.
The Kingsway tunnel was then closed after reports were received that a man had fallen from the Wheatland Lane bridge at 4.45pm. He suffered serious injuries and died at the scene.
The man has not yet been formally identified. He is decribed as being in his late 20s or early 30s, 5'10" with dark hair, and was wearing grey track suit bottoms, Reebok trainers and a short sleeved grey track suit top.
Police are appealing for anyone with information to call 709 6010.
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