A huge fire broke out at a bakery owned by Morrisons in Wakefield yesterday afternoon.

Around 50 firefighters were on hand to tackle the blaze at the Rathbones Bakery on Stephenson Way, which saw plumes of black smoke drift across the nearby M1 and burnt buns and bread flying through the air.

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service reported that around 80% of the 86,000sq ft building was on fire and firefighters were working through the night to get the blaze under control. Some staff were treated for smoke inhalation, but there were no serious injuries reported.

A spokesman for Morrisons told British Baker: “There was a fire at our Rathbones bakery in Wakefield. All colleagues were evacuated quickly and safely.” He added that the fire brigade was still in attendance on Monday morning, but there was no further news at present as they were unable to access the site as yet.

Morrisons acquired the whole of the Rathbones Kear bakery business in 2007, when it bought out the 20% stake owned by bakery entrepreneur Harry Kear.

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