NIGHT-SHIFT workers at a Blackburn paper plant were evacuated when a toilet roll machine caught fire in the early hours of yesterday.

Four Lancashire Fire and Rescue crews attended the blaze at Accrol, in Roman Road, just before 3am.

About 20 staff were forced to leave a building towards the rear of the site after the fire was discovered in equipment that converts paper into toilet rolls.

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Watch manager John Riley said: “The factory was occupied at the time and the fire was discovered by an employee, who raised the alarm and the factory was evacuated.

“There was heavy smoke-logging and crews spent several hours ventilating the building using ventilation fans. The cause of the fire is still under investigation but not thought to be suspicious.”

Two crews from Blackburn station, one from Darwen and one from Hyndburn, were in attendance at the scene for about three hours.

A statement from the company said: “In the early hours of Monday, September 14, Accrol experienced a fire on one its production lines.

“No-one was hurt and Accrol staff executed all procedures in an exemplary fashion.

“The Fire Brigade attended the site and contained the fire within minutes, leading to no damage to the building or stock.

“We would like to thank the Fire Brigade and its staff for their speed of response and the professional manner within which they dealt with this incident.”

Accrol was celebrating in May after announcing a recruitment drive to create 100 new jobs after its annual sales broke the £100 million mark.