'No risk' from factory fire ash

About 80 firefighters attended the blaze, which destroyed the factory

Ash which fell on a town during a factory fire poses no danger if handled appropriately, officials have said.

About 170 residents were evacuated from their homes and five schools were shut because of the fire at the Skymark factory in Leominster on Wednesday.

Herefordshire Primary Care Trust and the council said it was safe to pick up the ash if wearing gloves and it could be thrown away with the normal rubbish.

Growers were advised to wash fruit and vegetables before eating them.

No-one was hurt in the fire, which destroyed the factory in Southern Avenue.

'Film of ash'

The fire, which caused a large black plume of smoke over the town, raised fears about the chemicals involved.

"Some areas under the pall of smoke which headed north over the town were left covered with a film of ash," a spokeswoman for the primary care trust said.

It is understood some 50,000 litres of chemicals together with a number of butane gas cylinders were at the plant, which stored paints and plastics.

Fire crews were most concerned about a chemical commonly used in vehicle paint and which can cause asthma.

The fire was thought to have started accidentally in a printing press in the early hours.

Production director Paul Neath said he was hopeful the factory could be rebuilt in Southern Avenue or nearby.