FIRE crews tackled a blaze in a Teesside foundry tonight.

The Doncasters Paralloy factory on Macklin Avenue, Billingham, was badly damaged by the fire, which broke out just after 8pm.

Three different areas of the building caught fire when machinery malfunctioned, causing molten metal to escape.

Davey Veitch, watch manager at Stockton Fire Station, said the metal splashed upwards when it hit the floor, igniting everything a molten metal ladle, an overhead crane and the roof space.

The electricity supply to the whole plant had to be cut off before the fires could be tackled using high-powered water jets, and it took an hour for the blaze to be brought under control.

Mr Veitch said no-one was injured due to the diligence of the staff at the site and the fire service.

“It was quite a difficult job because you can’t put water on molten metal, and the crane had nine kilovolts going through it,” he said.

Doncasters Paralloy makes tubing and castings for companies in the petrochemical industry.