Inquiry after feed factory fire

A massive clean-up operation has begun after almost 70 firefighters tackled a fire at a Cumbria animal feed factory.

About a dozen fire crews worked through the night to bring the fire at the Premier Proteins plant, near Penrith, under control.

An investigation has begun into the cause of the fire, which saw tens of gallons of potentially dangerous fuel oil released.

It is thought the fire started behind a boiler in a fuel tank container.

No-one was hurt in the incident.

Reinforcements called'

Station Officer Alan Sowerby, of Cumbria Fire Service, said: "It was an extremely difficult incident to deal with.

"It was especially difficult when you have oil coming out as we did in this case.

"We just had to do the best we could with the equipment we had.

"We also had to make sure the oil did not find its way into watercourses."

Penrith fire crews had to call in reinforcements from west Cumbria to tackle the fire, which started at about 2300 BST.

A spokesman for the company, which is owned by the Irish-based multi-national IAWS group, said production facilities had not been affected by the fire.