A COMPANY whose "shoddy" system of work turned an industrial town into a "war zone" was fined £39,000 yesterday.

Three hundred homes were evacuated and 19,000 put at risk after a junior worker used a wrong piece of machinery and caused a devastating chemical blaze at the Distillex plant in North Shields, North Tyneside, on April 12.

It took more than 300 firefighters 30 hours to make the scene completely safe.

The Tyne Tunnel was closed and the Metro rail system was brought to a standstill at rush-hour - effectively bringing the busy town to a halt.

At the height of the blaze, flames shot 150ft in the air, and fire and thick black smoke could be seen from as far away as Sunderland, more than ten miles distant.

For about six-and-a-half hours, chemical drums containing highly flammable liquids exploded in the air and crashed through roofs, while melting plastic containers created a flow of burning liquid.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how the inferno was started when a spark from an angle grinder ignited powder soaked in a chemical called heptane, which has similar qualities to petrol.

The fire caused 413,000 litres of solvents contained in more than 4,000 drums to explode.

Thirty-seven police officers at the scene received minor injuries, including skin irritations and respiratoy problems, and three civilians were also injuried.

Distillex, which specialises in recycling waste solvents, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching health and safety legislation by failing to ensure, so far as practicable, the health and safety of its workers and persons other than the workers.

The plant, which employed 13 staff, was burnt to the ground.

The court also heard that five businesses operating near the plant were detroyed when blazing drums crashed into them, and more than £650,000 worth of damage was caused to the surrounding area.

David Rowland, prosecuting, told the court: "The prosecution is based on the fact that a shoddy system of work was in operation at the site."

Mr Rowland said that the operator had received no formal training for the particular job, but "picked up the system of operation from other members of staff".

The company said that although no written safety guide was in place for that particular procedure, there were safety procedures in place.

Jeremy Freedman, for the company, said: "The first and most important thing is they want to apologise to everybody who was adversely affected by this."

Mr Freedman said the blaze had a "castastrophic" effect of the company's finances. He added: "There is no suggestion here that this company was taking short cuts in order to increase profitability."

Judge Peter Bullock ordered the firm to pay a £39,000 fine and £7,975 costs.

He said: "What was a peaceful industrial area became a war zone, with flying containers and drums of highly flammable liquid raining down."