FIRE fighters in County Durham dealt with a blaze involving 13 tonnes of crisps this morning.

The blaze in a crisp storage shed at a farm just of the A19 at Castle Eden, was reported to County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service at 8.05am.

Two crews from Peterlee tackled the blaze.

The crisps were rejects from the nearby Walkers Crisps plant which were destined to be turned into pig feed, firefighter Mick Henderson said.

The watch manager, based at Peterlee, said: "The rejected crisps get recycled at the farm.

"The crisps are full of starch and oil and they have been heated.

"They were dropped in a big pile and they have ignited.

"The crisps were inside a barn and we extinguished it in about two hours."

It was believed the smell of the blaze was similar to smoky bacon crisps.