VILLAGERS were evacuated in their nightclothes as fire ripped through a four-storey mill in a spectacular blaze.

One hundred and thirty firefighters tackled the inferno at Brindle Mill, which was stacked with timber, in Gregson Lane, Hoghton.

Dozens of villagers, some in their nightclothes, were evacuated to a nearby school as flames threatened to spread to their homes.

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