SIX crews of firefighters rushed to deal with an incident after an alert was raised on the London Gateway Logistics Park near Stanford-le-Hope last night.

However, it transpired just one from Orsett Fire Station was enough to deal with a chemical spill and the other crews were stood down and returned to base.

The incident happened just before 6pm last evening (Friday, 27 November) at a building off Ocean Boulevard, the main access road through the logistics park close to DP World's London Gateway Port.

A statement from Essex Fire and Rescue says: "Initially, six crews were deployed due to the nature of the incident but on arrival, crews determined the scene to be non-hazardous to the wider public and only one crew and a number of specialist officers remained to identify the chemical.

"Firefighters and specialist officers used detection, identification and monitoring (DIM) equipment alongside colleagues from the Ambulance Service and the Police to identify the chemical and found it to be an irritant.

"Crews made the scene safe by 8.42pm. Eight people were left in the care of the Ambulance Service."

Watch Manager Dave Bond from Orsett Fire Station said: "This was a great opportunity for joint working between the emergency services. We worked closely together to identify this chemical in order to assist ambulance colleagues in giving appropriate medical treatment."