MORE than 80 firefighters tackled a huge blaze which ripped through three units at a Prestwich industrial estate and sent smoke billowing hundreds of feet into the air.

Worried local residents were reassured that there are no health risks posed by the subsequent fall-out of asbestos cement sheeting in the wake of Wednesday's blaze at the Mountheath Industrial Estate.

Bury Council is sending out letters to residents and businesses in the area in a bid to calm any fears.

The fierce fire engulfed a textile and toy importers unit, causing a brick wall and much of the structure to collapse, before spreading to two adjoining premises.

The blaze at the George Street estate, which broke out at around 7.10am, forced a number of staff in other units to flee.

The fire brigade received around 100 calls from members of the public and a dozen pumps were deployed.

This afternoon, more than 24 hours after the outbreak, the units were still smouldering. Four fire crews are still at the site and a cordon has been placed around the damaged units. However, traffic restrictions which had earlier been put in place around the area have been lifted.

Ian Bailey, of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The main unit where the fire started was empty at the time and the blaze spread to two other units at either side, another importers and a company involved in fittings for high pressure hoses.

"One was quite badly damaged while the other had some structural damage. It took two to three hours to bring the fire under control.

"The blaze broke through the roof of the main unit where the outbreak started and then the front wall collapsed. Most of the structure is now gone. The rubble actually fell on top of the contents of the building. To remove the rubble will take some time."

The efforts of fire crews to swiftly tackle the blaze were hampered by problems over water supplies. Mr Bailey went on: "This was due to weakness of the water pressure and we had to lay our hoses down quite some distance away. We set up a mile-long relay of water."

He allayed fears surrounding potential health threats from the fall-out of asbestos cement sheeting which had burned from the roof of the unit most seriously damaged in the blaze.

He explained: "Asbestos is in its most dangerous form when it is fine particles, gets inside the lungs and stays there. In this case, it seemed a low level and the least hazardous form of asbestos which was coming off in flakes."

A spokeswoman for Bury Council said sampling of debris from the estate had confirmed the presence of cement asbestos but that air sampling had not detected any contamination from the fire. Specialist contractors have been brought in to clear the area of asbestos and this operation will take up to four days.

Residents and businesses should dampen and double bag any debris and telephone the local authority on 253 5566 for collection.

Meanwhile, investigations into the cause of the fire continue.