A fire temporarily halted production today at the Fox’s Biscuits plant in Batley, West Yorkshire.

The factory’s owner, 2 Sisters Food Group, said in a memo to staff a “small blast” occurred while contractors were draining and cleaning diesel tanks at the facility. One member of the contractor team sustained burns to his legs, the company said.

“The response to the incident from colleagues on site was excellent, the evacuation was done quickly and orderly and we remained fully in control at all times,” the memo said.

The site was evacuated but returned to full production at 3pm.

“Safety is the highest priority across all of our sites,” said Mel Bugler, acting managing director of Fox’s Biscuits.

“Clearly there will be a full investigation. However, our first priority is the welfare of the affected contractor and we are liaising with the hospital and being kept informed on the situation.”