FIREFIGHTERS had to battle against thick smoke and heat to dismantle a blazing machine at a Huncoat factory.

The fire, at Coating Applications, in Newhouse Road, started at noon yesterday after a fault in a coating machine ignited oil inside.

Station officer Chris Hollis, of Accrington fire station, said: "It wasn't a big fire, it was just very difficult because it involved a large machine and it wasn't easy to get into it to extinguish the fire.

"We had to dismantle it while the fire was burning, in thick smoke and extreme heat."

The machine was destroyed and a small section of the roof damaged by heat.

Four fire engines attended the blaze, along with an incident support unit.

Ventilation equipment was used to remove smoke from the factory.

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