A LEAKING gas cylinder on a fork lift truck caused an explosion in a warehouse full of toilet seats.

The blast at the toilet seat distributors, Bemis, in Farrington Road, Burnley, occurred at 4.20pm yesterday.

A worker at the warehouse heard a hissing sound coming from the vehicle and went to report it. But by the time she and the manager returned, it had exploded.

Firefighters called to the scene said they were met by a cloud of gas and used the thermal imaging cameras to see through the smoke.

Operations manager Peter Hughes said: "We had minor stock damage because the sprinkler system put out the fire effectively.

"Two pallets of toilet seats were slightly damaged by the explosion.

"Most of our office staff had gone home when the fire broke out, which just left a few members of management in the building. They were all evacuated immediately and safely when the alarm sounded.

"The fire brigade's response was excellent. They were here within four minutes of making the initial call to help damp down and tidy up."

Nobody was hurt in the incident. A full investigation by the fire brigade was taking place today.