Blaze smoke carries miles

FOR some, it was the smell. For others, it was the loud and continuous 'popping' sound.

- CHRIS SLATER

But as those living in the terraced streets off Matthews Lane in Levenshulme woke yesterday morning they knew something wasn't right.

When they peered out of their windows, around 8am, they could hardly believe their eyes. Huge orange flames had engulfed a unit in the Longden Road industrial estate, just a few yards away on the other side of the street.

The flames were lapping up out of the roof, about six or seven feet into the air, above the building. Whilst enormous plumes of thick, black smoke were being sent billowing into the skies above.

They could be seen for miles, as far away as Oldham, as people across Greater Manchester wondered where on earth they were coming from and what was happening.

But for the residents on the streets next to Nutsford Vale Park, near the borders with Gorton and Longsight, the situation was much more immediate. "It was chaos," one said. "It was really, really bad. Very scary," said another.

Some decided they weren't taking any risks. As the fire raged just metres from their front doors, clearly panic-stricken parents grabbed their little kids and ran out of their homes clutching them in their arms.