FIRE crews spent more than three hours tackling a fire and making the area safe after flames ignited in a machine at Sunnyside Mill.

A carding machine at the fabric mill in Adelaide Street, Daubhill, caught fire at about 4.30pm and firefighters were at the scene until 8pm.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "It was a long job because we had to make sure the entire machine was safe, which involved checking all the ducts with our thermal imaging camera."