FIREFIGHTERS and security staff stopped a fleet of bin wagons going up in smoke last night after one of the vehicles caught fire.

Security guards spotted smoke coming from one of the wagons parked in Bolton Council's refuse collection depot in Wellington Street, Deane.

The wagon which is believed to have caught fire because of an electrical fault, was one of between 30 and 40 vehicles parked close together at the depot.

Firefighters were at the scene within minutes and managed to put out the small fire before it developed into a full scale blaze.

And a brigade spokesman said the blaze could have spread to the whole fleet if the fire had not been spotted. The fire started at the bottom of the engine compartment and it is thought that an electrical fault ignited some plastic generating smoke.

The brigade spokesman said: "The damage was minimal but it could have been a lot more serious

"It was fortunate that the smoke was spotted in time."

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