A CHEESE factory made famous by Wallace and Gromit suffered a fire that hit production at the weekend.

More than 30 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze at the Wensleydale Creamery, in Hawes, North Yorkshire, in the early hours of Sunday.

Three wax dripping machines were destroyed in the blaze, which caused extensive smoke damage to some of the buildings at the creamery, including a storage room.

Crews from Hawes, Reeth, Leyburn, Richmond and Sedbergh worked for about five hours to bring the fire under control.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service believe the fire was caused by a faulty thermostat in one of the wax dripping machines. They were due to revisit the site later in the day to ensure it was safe.

The creamery is a popular attraction in the region with a visitor shop and museum, and it has cashed in on its association with Nick Park's animated characters, Wallace and Gromit.

Wallace, a cheese enthusiast, heavily endorsed Wensleydale cheese in short films featuring the characters, and later in the feature film, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The pair have even appeared in adverts for Wensleydale cheese.

Wensleydale Creamery brought out a range of Wallace and Gromit- branded products to help promote the film, including Wallace and Gromit Wensleydale, Wensleydale with carrot and orange, Leicester with leeks, and cheddar with cherrybell peppers and sun-dried tomatoes.

Managing director David Hartley said the fire was an inconvenience but would not affect supply and that production of the cheese would not be severely disrupted.

He said: "The fire was in our blending area, so the cheese-making side and visitor centre are unaffected. Most of the equipment is okay as well. We are very fortunate, it could have been a lot worse. They managed to get to it in good time and, most importantly, no one was hurt."

The blending area is where the cheese is mixed with other ingredients such as cranberries.

Mr Hartley said: "We hope to have most lines up and running within the next few days. There will be no shortage as our cheese is stored off site."