Yapton inferno

A massive fireball could be seen for miles and surrounding houses and buildings shook violently as a series of loud explosions erupted at the workshop in Ford Lane, Yapton.

The fire started at about 9.30am when a spark from a grinder ignited a pot of paint thinners. It took just seconds for the fire to spread to the rest of the building as the six employees ran for their lives.

One eye witness working at the nearby Ford Industrial estate said he heard two or three deafening explosions.

"I didn't know what was happening. I looked out and saw this fireball and a load of acetylene bottles flying up into the air. They must have been flung about 40 or 50ft up."

Another eye witness working at the nearby Tarmac depot said: "The smoke was so thick that there was a blackout for a few seconds after the first explosion."

R S Fuller proprietor Bob Fuller said: "I was on my way back to the office from Bognor and I saw this plume of smoke and thought, 'blimey, someone's having a fire'.

"As I got nearer, I realised it was our place. I wanted to go in there and retrieve some bits from the office but the police said it was too dangerous."

The plume of smoke could still be seen from as far away as Ferring for at least an hour after the fire started and large chunks of debris fell on the streets of Littlehampton.

R S Fuller moved into the unit only three months ago and Mr Fuller said the estimated cost of the damage, not including the building, was at least 200,000.

He added: "The building was completely gutted. I had expensive equipment in there which I have had since starting the business 25 years ago. I suppose it's going to be a case of starting from scratch."

He praised the 85 firefighters from across Sussex who were called to tackle the blaze, saying they had done a good job.

Firefighters from Littlehampton, East Preston, Arundel and stations from further afield spent four hours bringing the inferno under control.

The police blocked off both ends of Ford Lane as the site was considered extremely hazardous. Twelve acetylene cylinders had been stored in the building, as well as a tank containing 600 gallons of diesel.

Firefighters used ground monitors '“ remote fire hoses '“ to douse the flames and kept a distance of 200m as it was too dangerous for them to go any closer.

Littlehampton fire brigade were first on the scene and station commander Trevor Worsfold said the first thing his crew saw as they arrived was a heavy cloud of thick, black smoke.

"This is certainly the biggest and most dangerous fire we have dealt with for at least five years. The people were very lucky to get out of the building alive and unhurt," he said.