BOSSES at a bottling plant in Simonstone were today counting the cost of a blaze which destroyed a lorry and 400 wooden pallets.

Around 40 workers were evacuated from the Seaways (Services) UK Ltd building in Blackburn Road yesterday after the alarm was raised by a member of staff.

Fire crews from Padiham, Accrington and Burnley battled to contain the fire and the risk of an explosion was averted when quick-thinking firefighters controlled a blaze next to a diesel tank.

Bosses said work was halted for two hours while the blaze was brought under control.

Director Jayne Shaw said: "The main thing is that nobody was injured because at one point the fire was quite bad, although it was outside the building. It completely burned out one of the articulated trucks which will be costly to replace. We are now awaiting the outcome of a fire investigation."

But fire chiefs today revealed the fire was likely to have been caused by a pallet which overheated.