THE manager of a Thurrock power station where a major safety valve blew last night (Saturday, 26 April), causing concern and consternation to local residents who had reported an explosion and a blast, has assured them the incident never put them at risk.

As reported live throughout last evening on Thurrock Nub News firefighters and police were alerted after the safety valve blew at Intergen's Coryton natural gas-fired power station close to the river Thames and accessed by the Manorway via Stanford-le-Hope and Corringham.

The nearest homes are a couple of miles away but the noise from the venting, which was akin to that of a thrusting jet engine could be heard as far away as East Tilbury – several miles down the river – and in Basildon.

Though emergency services rushed to the scene, and police blocked all routes to the Manorway, their role turned out to be precautionary. Reports of an explosion and flames, which arose on social media, were discounted.

"The site team dealt with this quickly and there was no risk"

Today the Coryton plant manager, Stuart Clements, spoke to Thurrock Nub News, saying: "On Saturday evening, an issue with a steam pipe connection caused the release of a large amount of steam and noise at the Coryton Power Plant.

"The site team dealt with this incident quickly and there was no fire or risk to our staff or to the public. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and Essex Police promptly attended the site as a precaution.

"We would like to thank the emergency services for their rapid response and apologise to the local community for any concern that this may have caused, particularly at this time."

The site of the power station, run by American company Intergen, was originally part of the Coryton Refinery before its closure in 2012. The refinery was the last of the three major refineries on the Thames Estuary to remain in operation, following closure of nearby Shell Haven and BP Kent.

The site was recently cleared and is earmarked to become the new Thames Enterprise Park, creating up to 4,500 jobs.

The £470 million power station took two years to build and came into operation in 2002. Its gas supply comes via an underground pipeline almost four and a half miles long from the National Grid.