HOMES inside a 200 metre exclusion zone thrown up around Leeming Bar Industrial Estate have tonight been evacuated.

The precaution was carried out after firefighers found acetylene cylinders were inside the blazing paint spray workshop.

The alarm was raised at 5.15pm this evening at the estate, just off the A1 near Bedale, North Yorkshire.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said two crews arrived to find a "severe fire" and immediately requested the assistance of a further three appliances.

He said: "During the incident it was discovered acetylene cylinders were involved in the fire.

"The fire was extinguished and the cylinders are being dealt with but as a precaution a 200 metre exclusion zone has been put up around the hazard zone and there are a number of properties and houses within that hazard zone."

Water jets will be used to keep the cylinders - which become highly volatile under heat - at a cool temperature and firefighters will be at the scene all night.

Residents have been evacuated by police to a nearby centre.

The industrial estate is home to a variety of manufacturing and service industries, including Dalepak and Richmond Ice Cream Company.