FIREFIGHTERS from all over Greater Manchester fought a massive blaze at an industrial estate on Wednesday.

Flames engulfed a textile and toy importers unit on the Mountheath industrial estate, off George Street in Prestwich, causing a brick wall and much of the structure to collapse. The fire spread to two adjoining buildings, forcing staff to flee.

A huge plume of acrid smoke billowed into the sky and could be seen for miles around. At its height, more than 80 firefighters and 12 pumps fought the blaze which broke out at around 7.10am. Their efforts were hampered by problems of weak water supplies.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Ian Bailey said: "The main unit where the fire started was empty at the time and the blaze spread to two units at either side. One was quite badly damaged while the other had some structural damage. It took two to three hours to bring the fire under control." By yesterday afternoon, the blaze was still burning and fire crews were expected to remain at the scene all day.

The fire caused rush-hour chaos on the roads as restrictions were put in place. Access to George Street from Bury New Road was blocked and one carriageway of Bury New Road, heading out of Manchester, was closed from Kings Road to Hilton Lane.