A RUNWAY at Blackpool Airport had be closed this week after a gas cylinder ignited at a Lytham welding factory.

The incident happened at CPK Welding, Snowdon Road on Monday (February 21) afternoon when a faulty regulator resulted in gas escaping.

Factory owner Paul Kirkham was initially trapped by the cylinder, but managed to escape relatively unscathed with burns and lacerations.

He alerted staff at neighbouring businesses and Blackpool airport, who diverted planes on the north-south runway, and firefighters were called to the scene. They arrived to discover thick black smoking billowing from inside the building and used four sets of breathing apparatus, one hose reel and one jet to locate the fire.

A further three appliances were needed to enter the premises, where fire crews discovered severe damage by fire and smoke. Officers managed to cool the gas cylinder by immersing it in a barrel of cold water.

Although Paul required treatment in casualty at Blackpool Victoria Hospital for his injuries, he was keen to stress that the incident has not affected his company or staff and everything is business as usual.

He said: "After reading reports in the local press, some of my customers are wondering if I am still in business.

"The incident looked a lot worse that it actually was, with all the smoke, but it actually caused no damage to the factory.

"I would like to point out that it was all blown out of proportion and everything is fine - I was only in the hospital for an hour!"

A spokesman from Blackpool Airport said: "One runway was closed for a time as a precautionary measure because we heard there were potentially explosive gasses at the factory.

"But two runways remained open and no planes had to be diverted."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.