HEALTH and safety experts hope to conclude investigations soon on the site of the factory fire which brought much of Tyneside to a standstill on Friday.

But the owners of the solvent recycling plant have already pledged they will not seek to reopen the site once the inquiry is complete.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from nearby homes in the wake of the fire at the Distillex factory, in North Shields, North Tyneside, which sent huge plumes of thick black smoke bill-owing into the sky.

The smoke was visible from up to 20 miles away.

Neighbouring premises in East Percy Street were affected by the fire, the second incident at the factory in three months.

Distillex operations director Chris Nicholls said yesterday: "Seeing the aftermath, I'd say it was an inappropriate location and we will not be recommencing any activities.

"We employ 12 people, but it is too early to say what will happen to their jobs."

Mr Nicholls apologised for the incident and said he was "shocked and devastated" by what took place.

Experts from the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) met Distillex managers yesterday before turning their attention to on-site investigations.

As part of the inquiry, agency officers are gathering more information from the company about the materials that were stored at the recycling site prior to Friday's fire.

John Burns, environment planning manager for the agency, said: "We are trying to get a more accurate picture of what material may have been in the smoke plume to help us assess its possible impact."

HSE officials said work on the site should finish in days, with a report to follow in coming weeks.