FIVE people were taken to hospital after a fire at a chemical manufacturing firm in Hyndburn on Saturday.

A fire broke out around 2.45pm in a chemical processing unit at William Blythe Ltd in Bridge Street, Church.

But as specially trained staff at the firm dealt with the blaze, workers at a near-by unit behind Banson Tool Hire, off Blackburn Road, suffered from the fumes.

Three men, Phil Scholes, Ken Cooper and Tim Foster, and Tim’s teenage sons Jamie, 18, and Jack, 14, were taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital suffering irritation of the eyes and lungs.

Phil, 20, said: “We were just fiddling around at the unit when a smell of chlorine filled the air.

"We thought nothing of it, but after five or 10 minutes it started to get stronger and stronger.

“Our eyes started itching and when we had difficulty breathing we ran inside the unit, pulled the shutters down and used some little paint masks.

“We saw some smoke so we reported the fire and were then phoned back by fire control and told to get check-ed over.

“We were stripped off in the ambulances to be decon-taminated and were then tested for carbon monoxide poisoning at the hospital.

“It was quite an ordeal, we only got back around 8.30pm after being given the all-clear.”

Accrington fire service crew manager Steve Morley said the police were asked to visit neighbouring premises to advise people to stay indoors.

Mr Morley said that Blythe employees specially trained in health and safety had almost extinguished the fire by the time they arrived and suffered no ill-effects.

He said: “On our arrival the fire was almost out and the hazardous materials unit wasn’t needed.”

He said that the cause of the fire was unclear at this stage.

William Blythe managing director Tim Hughes said: “There was a minor fire in a section of plastic ducting.

“The incident was dealt with by site personnel, but as a precaution the fire brigade attended the site.

“The company is currently investigating the cause of the incident, in line with our rigorous health and safety procedures.

“Any lessons that can be learned will be acted upon.”