HEALTH and safety chiefs have reassured residents in Deane there was an "insignificant risk" from asbestos particles contaminating the air during a recent fire.

Residents voiced their concerns to the Environmental Health department after workmen demolished a building on Willows Lane and set fire to the rubble.

It was initially thought concrete asbestos sheets were left inside the rubble.

This was denied by the contractor, Millcroft Construction, which told Environmental Health chiefs the sheets were put into a sealed container ready to be removed.

Representatives from the Health and Safety Executive visited the site and found small chunks of asbestos amid the remains but they had failed to break up and did not become airborne.

Millcroft said the particles were attached to other materials and could not be easily removed.

The firm also claimed the fire was not left burning by workmen after they had gone home.

The Health and Safety Executive said it has now dropped the matter, although the Environmental Health department is still unsure whether to continue the investigation.

Firefighters had earlier alleged the rubble was alight when they were called out on Wednesday at 6.10pm and the contractor said it was at a loss to explain how it happened.

Stephen Maslivec, head of environmental protection at Bolton Council, said: "We contacted the Health and Safety Executive and they looked at the site. It appears there were small pieces of asbestos in the fire but how little we do not know."

Firefighters spent Wednesday night dampening the flames with a sprinkler hose to prevent the alleged asbestos from getting into the air. They were still at the scene yesterday morning, more than 12 hours later.

Mr Maslivec added: "In a fire, cement asbestos sheeting would break up but the asbestos would tend to remain locked to the cement so there is little risk of contamination of the air.

"But because it's asbestos there are precautions that still need to be taken and we had to make sure that they were."

Brian Robinson, a resident who lives nearby with his wife and two children, aged two and 10, said: "I asked the workmen if they were going to put the fire out but they said would just try and dampen it down as best they could before they went home.

"There were children nearby raring to get in there to relight it and a lot of people were concerned the workmen had lit the fire anyway. It seemed a cheap way of getting rid of the rubble.

"It's obviously a health concern especially with there being asbestos involved somewhere along the line."

Nobody from Millhouse Construction was available for comment.