Explosion rocks Berkshire trading estate

A trading estate in Slough has been cordoned off by police this morning following a "large" explosion at a print blanket manufacturer.

Emergency services, including more than 30 firefighters, were called to the incident, which the BBC claimed had occurred at Duco International, just after 10am.

A spokeswoman for Royal Berkshire Fire Service told PrintWeek that a stop signal was sent back to its station at around 11.25am, meaning the fire was under control.

She said: "I have since been told that the fire is now out; I expect an investigation will take place very soon."

A 200m cordon was put in place around the site, which houses 14 other print-related businesses, according to the trading estate's prospectus.

PrintWeek contacted a number of the printers who reported that they had not been evacuated and continued to trade as normal.

A Thames Valley Police spokeswoman said a 200m cordon had been put in place around the area.

Duco International is owned by Flint Group. Operations Manger John Cheal said: We will do all we can to quickly find out the extent of the damage and the cause of the incident and will inform about it as soon as more details are available.

The only reported injury is one person who received medical treatment for dust in the eyes.