TRAPPED on upper floors of Blackburn Jute Company's mill, off Whalley New Road, two firemen had to be rescued by turntable ladder, during a spectacular blaze. A third had a lucky escape when the floor collapsed under him.

Several hundred tons of jute and thousands of sacks were destroyed and machinery badly damaged as flames tore through the top three floors of the six storey building.

The alarm was raised by families living near Brookhouse Mill in Old Mill Street, only minutes after managing director George Tattersall had locked up for the Easter holidays in 1958.

One engine was on the scene within three minutes, but immediately called for reinforcements and the entire Blackburn fire fighting force, led by Chief Officer Tom Birtwistle, turned out - 35 men, three engines and a 100ft turntable ladder. Accrington also sent two appliances.

Flames glowed fiercely through the windows of the top floors and a thick pall of smoke hung over Brookhouse district.

Breaking into the mill through a basement door, squads of firemen raced to the head of the stairs on each of the upper storeys, to be confronted by blazing bales of jute, 10 feet high, and clouds of acrid smoke. Beaten back by intense heat, the men could only work in relays.

Station officer C Whittaker, in control of firefighting operations inside, was on the fourth floor when it suddenly collapsed and he was only saved from serious injury when he landed among smouldering bales of jute below.

He was helped out of the building with nothing more than a sprained ankle.

Firemen Harold Vose and Len Sharples, who were with him, found themselves cut off by flames and were forced to climb out of a window on to the turntable ladder.

The collapsed floor also trapped two other firemen underneath and with their only means of escape - the staircase and windows cut off - they hacked their way to freedom through cement.

Outside other officers were attacking the fire on all four sides and from above and with numerous hoses laid across the main road between Toll Bar and Bastwell, it was closed to traffic for three hours.

Squads of firemen remained on duty over the Easter weekend to ensure there were no further outbreaks.

One eye witness said: "The mill was blazing like a torch and everyone had written it off, but these firemen have done a grand job. They are real heroes."

Mr Tattersall said the fire would put nobody out of work: "In fact we may need more men to help us clear up the mess."