A CHEMICAL spillage at a Westbury solvent recovery plant prompted a full-scale police and fire alert on Friday.

Five fire engines, including a specialist Chemical Incident Unit, a police helicopter and a paramedic were all scrambled to Absolute Solvents in Brook Lane.

Staff raised the alarm at 5pm after potentially toxic gas started appearing from two barrels of paint thinner residue inside the factory.

Assistant Divisional Officer Phil Jones, of Wiltshire Fire Brigade, said: "Two barrels inside the factory started gassing off due to a chemical reaction. Four barrels were removed by fire fighters wearing breathing apparatus and put into a cordoned off area.

"There was some chemical spillage, which was cleared up using what we call Spillsorb. It works in a similar way to cat litter."

He added: "When we arrived we found it was a low risk chemical incident, but obviously we didn't want to take any chances."

Experts from chemical industry safety body Chemdata advised firefighters from Westbury, Warminster and Trowbridge at the scene via the control centre in Devizes. Emergency services had cleared the plant by 8pm.

Mike Dunning, a spokesman for the Environment Agency, which regulates Absolute Solvents, said: "We were happy with the way it was handled. We were satisfied that all the necessary steps were taken.

"A follow up inspection on Monday revealed no problems. We also carry out spot checks on the site on a three-month rolling programme."

An environmental health officer from West Wiltshire District Council also attended the scene and Wiltshire County Council's emergency planning team will be checking procedures with the company managers.

Pc Jo Tidmarsh, of Westbury police, said: "There was a very slight risk of toxic smoke, but it was far away from any houses.

"The fire brigade did a risk assessment, but no houses needed to be evacuated. It was just a case of taking every step in case anything happened.

"All residents were advised to keep their windows and doors shut for an hour or so."

The police helicopter was called in to monitor the spread of smoke.

Pc Tidmarsh added: "When the helicopter was going back to Devizes it flew over Bratton and found a vehicle that had come off the road with a girl in it.

"The crash was on an S bend between Westbury and Bratton. It's a notorious spot, particularly if it's been raining and we've had a huge number of accidents there.

"Usually when we are called out we know where the accident will be. She didn't have any injuries, but I think she was quite impressed that a helicopter had landed next to her one and a half minutes after she crashed."