AN INVESTIGATION was under way today into a warehouse blaze which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

More than 60 firefighters tackled the blaze which gutted part of the Sweet Dreams warehouse on the Farrington Road Industrial Estate, Burnley on Saturday.

Fire crews were called to the company at about 11.30am after workers discovered the blaze in a corner of the furniture store.

At the height of the blaze, fire crews from Burnley, Padiham, Accrington and Nelson were involved and smoke could be seen from several miles away.

No-one was injured in the fire, although a group of about 10 people who were stocktaking at the site were evacuated.

Worker Naseem Raza, who was in the building when the fire started, said: "There were only a few us in the warehouse and we smelled smoke coming from one corner. We realised there was a fire and called the fire brigade and made sure everyone was out."

General manager Stephen Boyd said the building was used for office space and as a storage depot for beds. Six people were employed.

He added: "It appears that the fire started amongst the pine beds in the warehouse, though it is too early to speculate how it started. I dread to think how much damage has been caused, though it must run into thousands of pounds."

Riaz Ahmed, the owner of the company, which has two other bases, in Martin Street and at Queen Street Mill in Burnley, is on holiday and unavailable for comment. Since the company was established in 1988, Sweet Dreams has emerged as a leading bed manufacturer and supplier with a national network of more than 1,300 independent retail distributors.

Divisional Officer Peter Aspden said: "When we got the call eight fire engines were requested so we knew it would be a big fire. Fortunately we managed to contain the fire to the warehouse

"A fire investigation is now under way to try to establish the exact cause."