THOUSANDS of pounds worth of damage was caused to 16 cars after a blaze ripped through a garage.

The vehicles were severely damaged by fire when a car being repaired at units in the converted Britannia Mills, Rishton, broke out in flames.

An employee had been working on the vehicle shortly before the fire started in one of the garage units but was not in the Spring Street building when the fire ighters arrived.

Fire crews from Great Harwood and the Incident Support Unit from Accrington battled to contain the fire, which started at around 6.45pm yesterday, for almost three hours.

Leading firefighter Glen Fogarty, of the ISU, said: "The car set on fire and it spread to some tyres which were next to it and then to a drum of oil or paraffin nearby.

"This set fire to two of the units which both contained cars.

"Two units were quite seriously damaged and in the third unit there were a couple of Rolls Royces which I think were used for weddings.

"These were covered by plastic sheets which saved them from getting embers on them."