A faulty forklift truck has been blamed for a fire which threatened to engulf a huge warehouse at a food factory.

A forklift truck driver was forced to flee the finished goods warehouse, at the Kraft Jacob Suchard plant, in Ruscote Avenue, Banbury, after his machine set fire to a stack of wooden pallets last night.

Crews from four fire stations battled to prevent the blaze spreading to the warehouse ceiling. At one point firefighters had to pull out after part of a rack containing pallets collapsed.

Martin Crapper, divisional commander for Oxfordshire Fire Service, said: "It appears the fire was caused by a forklift truck becoming stuck in an aisle and having some sort of fault which set fire to the stock. "This fire had a lot of potential. We could have had a major blaze on our hands had it not been for the timely intervention of the fire service."

The 200m-long warehouse is at the western side of the KJS site and contains goods, including coffee, custard powder and instant whip, which are ready for delivery.

The fire involved a 9m-high stack of pallets stored on steel racks. A sprinkler system and a system of roof fans and vents on the building helped prevent the blaze from spreading.

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