A NUCLEAR reactor has been shut down after a fire broke out in the turbine.

An oil leak spilled on to lagging in the turbine hall and  caught fire at Hartlepool Power Station shortly after 6.30pm on Saturday night.

Ten fire engines from across the region as well as police and ambulances attended the scene.

The fire was described as small and was extinguished  in a matter of minutes. No-one was hurt and there were no evacuations.

The plant is operated by EDF Energy and its trained  safety officers helped put out the blaze.

One of the station's two reactors remained closed today (Sunday, April 22) so the damage could be assessed.

A power station spokesman said: “EDF Energy can confirm that on April 20 2013 there was an oil leak and small fire on the lagging surrounding part of the turbine equipment in the turbine hall of unit 2 at Hartlepool power station.

"This occurred while Reactor 2 was being brought back into service following a statutory outage.

"Reactor 2 was successfully shut down and cooled following discovery of the fire.

"Reactor 1 at the station has been unaffected and continues to operate at full power.

“The fire was quickly brought under control and any residual smouldering extinguished at 19:53.”

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police explained smoke from the fire has drifted away from people’s homes and posed no danger.

“During incidents such as this there are several procedures that take place including the venting of steam generators. This particular process causes noise, which residents of nearby areas such as Seaton Carew may hear.”

Witness Andrew Duffell, who took photographs of the site during the drama, said: “Everything seemed under control but the main thing was the noise when the steam was being released. It was like the sound of a jet engine it was so loud.”

Iris Ryder, a Hartlepool-based Green Party campaigner, was reported as saying the highlighted the potential dangers of power stations.

However a spokesman for EDF Energy said the fire was quickly dealt with and the public were kept informed.