A PACKAGING plant had to be evacuated in the early hours of Wednesday morning after a machine caught fire.

Fire crews from Bury and Whitefield were called to the Printpack works in Bridge Hall Lane, Bury, to tackle the blaze at around 1am.

It is thought that the fire started when some residual ink left on one of the machines caught fire, which then spread to an electrical motor.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: "Three of our engines attended and the building had to be evacuated while we tackled the fire and got rid of the smoke."