A CONVEYOR belt system caught fire at Fiddlers Ferry power station on Sunday.

Two fire engines from Widnes, one from Warrington and one from Stockton Heath attended the blaze in Widnes Road, shortly before 5pm.

Shortly after arrival, emergency services increased their response with extra engines sent from Runcorn, Ellesmere Port and Stockton Heath.

Brian Cadwallader, watch manager at Widnes Fire Station, said: “Plumes of dark black smoke were coming out of an upper machine room. A conveyor belt that feeds biomass into the power plant, was alight.

“We got it under control very quickly.

“Crews spent all night there on standby to make sure everything was alright.

“We believe the fire was caused by an electrical fault but it is still under investigation.”

He said the fire involved a conveyor belt system above ground and spread into the main building.

The conveyor belt takes biomass fuel from hoppers up into a power room to burn and create electricity.

A spokesman for Scottish and Southern Energy, said: “There was a small fire. There were no injuries and no operational impact caused by the fire.

“It caused very minor plant damage.

“We are still investigating the cause.”