FIREFIGHTERS evacuated families from their homes amid fears chemicals at a sewage plant were about to go up in flames.

Residents of Coronation Avenue, near Esholt, were told to leave their homes while six fire crews, right, fought to control a blaze in a disused barn at Esholt Waste Treatment Works.

The houses were just metres from the storage barn housing liquid petroleum gas cylinders, and firefighters feared the barn may also have contained pesticide and other chemicals.

The fire broke out at 6.55am on Monday. Incident commander Allan Jones, from Odsal Fire Station said: "We think it could have housed other chemicals in the past and there could be pesticide in there at the moment. The people from the homes nearby had to be evacuated in case the situation got any worse."

The barn was destroyed in the fire, which took two hours to put out, and firefighters had to pump water half a mile from the River Aire to fight the blaze.

No-one was injured and residents were allowed to return to their homes as soon as the fire was extinguished.

A spokeswoman for Yorkshire Water said it was still investigating the cause of the fire. She said the building was not connected with the function of the treatment works and all the treatment systems are working as normal.

Mr Jones said the cause of the fire was not yet known, but residents had seen youngsters playing around the barn in recent weeks. (T&A pic)

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