SIX families had be evacuated from their homes when a Haslingden mill was destroyed in a spectacular £500,000 blaze in 1983.

Heat damaged arow of houses in Vale Street which overlooked the four-storey former cotton mill, as it was engulfed in flames.

Firemen from Haslingden, Accrington, Rawtenstall, Bacup and Burnley could not prevent Union Mill being completely gutted.

The drama began in the early hours when Tom and Joan Riley, who lived in Vale Street, were awakened by the sound of breaking glass.

A former fire beater and warehouse foreman at the mill, Tom immediately phoned the emergency services.

He said: “When the police arrived they insisted that the six families on the row should leave their premises as a safety precaution.”

By then, flames were leaping out of most of the mill windows and through the roof and the heat was so intense that it cracked many of the windows on nearby houses.

Mr and Mrs Riley were looking after their grandchildren, six-year-old Everton Evans and his brother Jon, three, when the blaze began and took them home before returning to watch the drama.

There was just one business operating from the mill, E Andrews motor bodies, and 20 cars which were undergoing repairs were completely destroyed.

An insurance assessor from Manchester viewed the scene the following morning and said: “The building may have to be totally demolished and at this stage I would put a figure on the damage at £500,000.

A fire brigade spokesman said: “Ten pumps were used to fight the blaze and we were able to use water from the nearby lodge.

“By the time we were called, however, the mill was well alight and there was nothing we could do to prevent it from being wrecked.”