Fire-hit pizza plant to stay shut

Two factories on the site have been destroyed by the major fire

Bosses at a factory destroyed by fire say it could take up to six months before work can restart at the site.

Night shift staff at the Geest plant in Barton-upon-Humber, near Hull, were led to safety when the fire started in a packaging warehouse on Sunday.

The company, which employs about 700 people in East Yorkshire, said its pizza and pasta production could be switched temporarily to Scunthorpe.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive has been launched.

A company spokeswoman said two of the three factories on the site had been destroyed.

'Toxic fumes'

"A pasta factory and a factory which was used to make garlic bread have both been destroyed, but a third building has been undamaged," she said.

"We had about 100 to 120 people on site at the time and all were led to safety very quickly and no-one was injured."

At its height, more than 100 fire personnel tackled the blaze at the factory on the industrial estate in Antelope Road.

It is thought to have started in a packaging store room.

Fire crews had been worried about the spread of toxic fumes drifting across west Hull towards the city centre.

Nick Grainger from Humberside Fire Service said: "At one point the smoke had spread across areas of Hull city centre, but the rain helped to diminish this to an almost negligible level."