Packaging plant destroyed in fire

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The fire could be seen for miles around

A packaging factory has been completely gutted by a blaze which broke out at the building in Leicestershire.

At the height of the blaze 10 fire engines were sent to Natsons Midland Packaging in Old Dalby, near Melton Mowbray, just before 2000 BST.

People living near the site had been told to secure their properties because of concerns about asbestos in the burning building.

Firefighters remained at the scene damping down during the day.

Fire investigators said the blaze had quickly engulfed the building.

'Dynamic incident'

Investigator Nigel Shaw said: "It was a rapidly developing fire with smoke coming from the roof.

"The actual roof covering which is cement and a small percentage of asbestos inside was involved in the fire and was starting to separate."

He added: "It was quite a dynamic incident and we requested resources at the scene quite quickly."

Crews could not get access to the inside of the building because it was badly damaged, but continued to damp down from outside and said they would "allow it to burn out".