Leighton Buzzard carpet firm relieved no-one was hurt after 'horrendous' bin fire with flames bigger than their building

Leighton Buzzard business Kingfisher Carpets says it is relieved no-one was hurt after a 'horrendous' bin fire yesterday evening.

At around 6.45pm on Tuesday, May 11, the company's metal recycling pod caught light with the flames described as "bigger than the building".

No-one was hurt during the incident, and staff at Kingfisher Carpets wish to say a huge thank you to Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, who were on the scene in a matter of minutes.

Co-owner Kelly Marston told the LBO: "I'd finished work and then got a call from a couple of businesses to say that our bin was on fire.

"I'd just got home so I turned on the ring camera [the company's doorbell CCTV] and could see it.

"For the size of the fire, we're surprised that it didn't do any more damage; at it's highest it was bigger than the building.

"The fire brigade reacted so quickly. They were absolutely fantastic."

Kingfisher Carpets has a replacement recycling pod arriving this Friday, while the only other damage was to a fence at the back of the bin.

Kelly said: "I'm just very glad that it didn't do anything apart from burn our rubbish. It was a horrendous fire, but it could have been a lot worse."

On the potential cause, she added: "We get kids climbing on the roof and mucking about sometimes. But I don't think this was anything malicious."

There had been reports on social media about the homeless sleeping in the business's bins, so Kingfisher Carpets were keen to reiterate that no-one was hurt.

Kelly said: "We have had homeless people sleeping there before, as they feel it's dry and safe. We're lucky that no-one was in there.

"Thank you to everyone who let us know about the fire. It could have been a lot worse without everybody's quick reaction.

"Leighton Buzzard is a really lovely community - people look out for you when something goes wrong. We've been here a long time and we've made some good friends. There are some very loyal businesses around.

"Thank you to our customers and other businesses for making sure than we are OK and that no-one was hurt, and thank you for all the support we have had today."

A Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman, said: "We were called at 6.40pm yesterday evening (11/5) following reports that a shed [the recycling pod] was on fire in Friday Street, Leighton Buzzard.

"Firefighters from Leighton Buzzard used hose reel, stack drags to extinguish the fire and a thermal imaging camera was also in use. The 5x5 tin shed contained scrap carpet, it was completely destroyed by the fire which was started deliberately."

A Bedfordshire Police spokeswoman said: "We were called just after 7.15pm yesterday (Tuesday) to a report of a fire at a premises in Friday Street, Leighton Buzzard.

"Officers attended to support the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and the incident is being investigated.

"If anyone has any information, please report it to us either online at https://www.bedfordshire.police.uk/report or by calling 101 quoting reference number 368 of 11 May."