THIS was the scene following a fire at an Appleton shredding company's factory caused by a conveyor belt overheating.

The blaze at Shred-it, based on Barley Castle Trading Estate, was dramatically reduced because of the sprinkler system installed in the machinery.

Keith Brooks, Cheshire Fire's head of protection and prevention, admitted the fire on June 30 could have proved to be 'disastrous' due to the 'highly combustible' products on site.

He added: "This company has taken the very responsible and correct steps to minimise damage from fire, from which companies very rarely recover.

"As a service we are very proactive in the promotion of sprinkler systems as they drastically reduce the damage caused by a fire and therefore minimise the disruption and time taken to achieve business continuity."

In addition to the deluge system in the machinery the company has a similar safeguard installed across the building.

A sprinkler system works by suppressing flames and operates automatically when fire is close to a sprinkler head.

The heat breaks the head and releases a spray of water to limit the fire from spreading.

Four fire engines, three from Cheshire and one from Greater Manchester, were sent to the fire.

Firefighters, two wearing breathing apparatus, isolated the electricity supply to the machinery unit and used a hose reel jet to make sure the fire was completely out.

They remained at the scene to damp down and used a forklift truck to remove paper bales from the affected area.