FIREBUGS brought town centre traffic to a halt and interrupted production at a plastic recycling plant.

Plumes of thick black smoke could be seen for miles swirling westwards from Friday evening's blaze at County Plastics Ltd in Union Street, Tyldesley.

Over 30 firemen from Atherton, Leigh, Farnworth and Bolton fought to prevent the blaze spreading from the Barnfield Mill site.

They told nearby residents to be ready to move if weather conditions changed.

A Fire Service spokesman said:"We were lucky, because if the wind had changed it could have been a very different story."

Duncan Guy, managing director of County Plastics Ltd, praised the fire service.

As he and the firm's four employees cleared-up the molten mess from the storeyard he said:"It's a mess, but it could have been much worse.

"We're hoping to be operational again by the end of this week.

"The fire destroyed tons of waste plastic stockpiled for recycling, but the fire brigade's prompt action prevented other than superficial damage to the building with some water damage to machinery."

The fire is thought to have started around 7.45pm and investigators suspect it was started deliberately by children.

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