Blackpool fire: Inferno breaks out at rock factory next door - hours after owner said he hoped to be reopen within a week

The inferno at Rainbow Candies, which comes despite firefighters' efforts to stop the fire spreading, comes hours after its owner said he hoped to be reopen within a week.

Tony Farrer, who first raised the alarm at around 7am, said earlier: "We smelled smoke in our building after coming in. Then it just went up. We evacuated staff ourselves. We had about six people in at the time.

"It's not a great situation. At its height, it was pretty bad. I'm not feeling brilliant about it, but I think we've been very lucky. We'll be back in and we'll be manufacturing within the week."

The number of fire engines at the scene - Cowley Road off Vicarage Lane in Marton - had been reduced from 10 to six, with the crews left behind tasked with damping down Nationwide Catering, which was destroyed, and stopping it from spreading.

But that number was hiked back up to 10, with firefighters scrambled back to the scene after the fire took hold once again. The plume of smoke could be seen from the M65, which runs from Blackburn to Burnley in east Lancashire, one official said.

There was no report of injuries, though there was concern about the ferocity of the blaze - with sugar and glucose highly flammable.

"We will be alright, we will start again, we will be fine, but maybe not this week. We've had better days."

Mr Farrer said he would have to get inside and assess the building before knowing when the business would be back in action.