MORE than 120 firefighters spent almost 12 hours tackling a huge blaze at a food factory after a gas explosion ripped through part of the building.

Flames ripped through the Vale of Mowbray factory at Leeming Bar, between Northallerton and Bedale, in North Yorkshire, following an explosion in an oven on Saturday, at about 9.30am.

A small weekend crew of a dozen staff was quickly evacuated.

The building became engulfed in flames and extra firefighters were called in from across the county to help tackle the blaze.

Crews using breathing apparatus attempted to fight the fire from within the factory, but were later forced out as parts of the building began to collapse.

It took firefighters - using 15 tenders - until 8pm to contain the blaze.

Yesterday, crews were still monitoring the building to prevent further fires.

The task of tackling the blaze was made more difficult because the factory had been built in different stages and the blaze spread quickly through the building, which will now have to demolished.

The blaze is believed to be the biggest in the county since 1996, when an explosion at Northern LPG Supplies, in nearby Aiskew, took crews hours to contain.

Terry Glover, spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, compared Saturday's blaze with the 1984 York Minster fire.

He said: "It was a huge fire and very difficult to contain.

"We had to draft crews from as far away as Harrogate and Tadcaster to help fight the blaze, which is one of the biggest we have been called to for a considerable time.

"Luckily, nobody was injured. It could have been a different story if it had happened on a weekday because there are usually more than 100 people working at the factory."

Eyewitness Andrew Parkes, 29, said the fire seemed to spread very quickly.

"You could see the smoke from quite far away and there were hundreds of people watching the firefighters trying to put it out," he said.

Bosses at Vale of Mowbray could not be contacted last night, but are believed to be planning to shift production elsewhere in an attempt to save the jobs of its 190 workers.

Last week, a row over union recognition emerged at the sausage and pork pie maker, which was saved by a management buy-out seven years ago.

The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, which has members in the food processing industry, is lining up a campaign to gain recognition, but the company has declined an offer of talks, saying it prefers to work directly with staff.