A FIRE at a Worcester industrial estate lit the skies of the city as plumes of smoke that could be seen as far as Stourport-on-Severn polluted the sky.

More than four tons of pallets burst into flames around 8pm last night, outside the Excel Automation site, in Gregory's Bank Street, in Barbourne, Worcester.

The blaze quickly spread throughout the forecourt, consuming two cooling tanks and a goods vehicle's trailer, and threatening to hit highly flammable propane cylinders.

The fire brigade received 44 separate calls to attend the scene and six appliances and 30 firefighters arrived to deal with the "time-bomb".

After moving the gas cylinders, the crews from Worcester, Droitwich and Malvern managed to control the blaze, which destroyed the pallets and severely damaged the cooling tanks and trailer.

"Some young children were seen running away from the site last night," said Alec Mackie, a spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade. "And we have launched an investigation into the cause and now have experts sifting through the debris."

Firefighters entered Excel Automation, which manufactures and sells automatic conveyor belts, to ensure the heat from the fire had not caused any internal damage.

Crews remained at the site overnight, and were still damping down the remains early this morning.

Nobody was injured in the incident, but police are appealing for witnesses to help their investigation into the suspected arson.

Anyone who was near the industrial estate or who thinks they may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area shortly before the fire should contact PC Adrian Brooks on 08457 444 888, quoting incident number 519S/130703.