A SERIOUS chemical spill at a March business caused today’s Remembrance Day silence to be held early.

Three people have already gone to hospital after the spill at Qualitetch Components, in Century Way. A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service described the substance as a “hazardous chemical” and said there was a possible carbon monoxide gas leak.

The town centre silence was held around five minutes early to allow police to reopen High Street and Broad Street as quickly as possible.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said: “We were called by the Ambulance Service at 10.21am to reports of a chemical incident at Century Way in March.

“We were required to close the road to the remembrance service earlier than planned in order to make resources available to respond to the chemical incident.

“The organisers of the event were informed and happy with this decision. The remembrance service went ahead as planned.”

The fire service were also called to the incident. An officer attended but the premises had already been ventilated.

One reader said the public should have been made aware of the Remembrance Day service being brought forward.

“A lot of people were arriving at 11am to find everybody had gone,” she said. “I was going to meet somebody in town for the event and they didn’t turn up.

“I spoke to Bernard Keane (the Mayor of March) afterwards who said police had to get the traffic moving because there was a chemical spillage elsewhere in the town.

“I think the public should have been told the reason for holding it early.”