A DIGGER worth £500,000 burst into flames at Pilsworth landfill site.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at 10.10am today after an oil leak caused a fire in the engine of the machine.

The man driving the digger noticed smoke coming from the engine and abandoned the vehicle.

He was not injured, but when attempts by staff to put out the blaze using fire extinguishers failed the fire service was called.

Tony Wellock, watch manager at Whitefield fire station, said fire engines from Whitefield and Bury attended the blaze.

He added: “The digger was right in the middle of the site on compacted rubbish so it was difficult to get close to it – we had to pull the hoses right out and use water from the two pumps.

“The crews managed to confine the fire to the engine and stop it spreading to the rest of the digger.

“We spent about an hour tackling the fire and making the digger safe.”