SMOKE from a quarry fire caused evacuation fears at a Darlington supermarket this week.

On Sunday, firefighters from the Darlington station were called out to Barmpton Quarry, owned by W and M Thompson (Earthworks), at about 8.25pm after receiving reports of thick clouds of smoke rising from the site.

Crews carried out damping down duties on a fire below the surface all day on Monday and when quarry staff returned to work on Tuesday they were able to take over.

However, smoke has continued to drift across the Whinfield area at different times throughout the week.

Paul Steadman, transport development and environmental manager at Barmpton Quarry, said: "The fire was brought under control and our own machines dealt with it. We dug out the material on fire and another machine tracked back over it.

"The fire was isolated and we used machines used by farmers to spread the fields to damp down.

"The site is not licensed to take anything hazardous and only accepts building waste such as bricks, concrete and plasterboard. We don't accept any household waste and in that respect we are very lucky because household waste is a lot more flammable.

"We have closed the site but we hope to re-open it next week."

Despite heavy rainfall on Tuesday, material at the quarry continued to burn and residents in the area were forced to keep doors and windows closed because of the strong smell of smoke.

Seane Wilkinson, manager of the town's Asda store, contacted the fire brigade several times during the week because the smoke and burning smell raised concern from staff and customers.

He said: "We noticed quite a spell of burning and smoke at the beginning of the week. We have a lot of ventilation in the building and the systems were bringing the smell of the smoke into the store.

"I was concerned that it might set off smoke detectors and alarms, therefore, we would have to evacuate the building. At times there are about 2,000 people in the store.

"We only ever evacuate during a test drill or when there is a problem in the store.

"When you've got the smell of smoke and an alarm goes off, it makes a big difference to the psyche and people can jump to conclusions. I wanted to check it out just in case we had to alter the alarm system."

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said that it would be investigating the cause of the fire.

In 2003, the quarry received a two-year extension for a restoration project to return the site to agricultural land, which is expected to be completed between February and September next year.