A FIRE which destroyed a West Devon business on Monday night is being investigated for arson.

Sixty firefighters battled to put out the blaze which ripped through the Colpro factory on the Ottery Business Park near Lamerton.

The building and all its contents, which have been estimated in excess of £50,000, were lost.

Flames rose to 60 feet and mini explosions could be heard in the vicinity. At one point fire officers thought they might have to evacuate local residents due to concerns over chemicals, and local village halls were at the ready, but this was avoided.

Fire crews received multiple calls from members of the public around 6pm and appliances from Yelverton, Bere Alston, Princetown, Plymouth and Okehampton were called in to assist two crews from Tavistock.

Tavistock fire officer Glenn Arundel said the blaze was under control by about 10.30pm and had been prevented from spreading to the six other industrial units on the business park.

He said: 'The Colpro factory is by far the largest building on the industrial estate and when we arrived on site there was a ferocious fire.

'The company makes fibre glass mouldings and there was a risk of explosion from the highly toxic chemicals used in the process.

'However, the wind direction was such that we were able to avoid an evacuation of local properties.'

The cause of the fire remains a mystery and members of the Arson Task Force were called in to assess the scene on Tuesday morning.

Colpro's owner Rob Coleman, who built the business up from a one-man band to a workforce of eight over nine years, said he was devastated by what had happened.

He said: 'My partner Dawn Lake locked the factory and left at 5.20pm and by 6pm it had all gone.

'Things were going well with the business and we had just taken on our largest ever order which was a three-year contract.

'I cannot believe anybody would set light to the factory. We will have to leave it to the professionals to find out.'

Mr Coleman praised fire officers for their speed, attitude and understanding.

Dawn Lake, who manages the factory, said she had carried out all the checks before she left and everything appeared fine.

'I just cannot believe what has happened — I am gobsmacked,' she said. 'The first I knew of it was when my daughter saw flames from our home.

'Everything has gone in the fire and things like the moulds are absolutely irreplaceable. We cannot see a way back from this at the moment. We have lost our livelihood and I am worried to death about the men we employ here.'

Colpro was last October refused retrospective permission for its manufacturing operation due to concerns from local residents over smells coming from the site. The planning refusal was being fought by the company.

A local resident, who did not wish to be named, said he felt very sorry for those people who had lost their livelihood.