RESIDENTS last night spoke of how they were forced from their homes over fears two acetylene cylinders in a blazing industrial unit could explode.

Fire crews were sent to a fire at AMC Auto Finishers workshop, on Leeming Bar Industrial Estate, in North Yorkshire, on Thursday. After they put out the fire, they found the cylinders in the building.

They set up a 200-metre exclusion zone around the smouldering workshop, forcing 58 residents to leave their homes. They were joined by industrial estate workers in the evacuation, which took place at about 9pm.

Most went to The Lodge at Leeming Bar hotel, at the nearby A1 services. They were allowed home at 12.30am yesterday.

Last night, Nancy Richards, 60, of Bedale Road, said: "I had seen the black smoke from the fire as I came home, but thought nothing more about it.

"Later on, I was watching television and then the police came and said I was being evacuated

"We were sent to the hotel and there was hot drinks and sandwiches there and a bit of Dunkirk spirit."

Lesley Barton, the landlady of the White Rose Hotel, in Bedale Road, said: "We had to empty the place and we had residents there in their rooms and people in the bar. I thought my husband, John, was joking when he first told me."

Jane Utley, deputy manger of The Lodge hotel, said: "We made beds in the bar for the children and gave blankets to the elderly.

"It was quite an experience, but we had staff ringing in asking if we wanted them to come and help out."

The move also affected R&R Ice Cream Ltd, which is across the road from where the fire was.

Spokesman Peter Pickthall said: "The fire brigade used our car park to wet the workshop's roof.

"The fire began as we swapped shifts over, but we were able to get staff in and out of a back door.

"Our biggest fear was that the fire would spread, but we had to shut down when we were evacuated."

Fire station manager Carl Boasman said: "Even when the fire is extinguished, acetylene cylinders can remain hazardous for up to 24 hours. Public and firefighter safety is our priority."

The cylinders were cooled for 24 hours. The fire's cause is being investigated.