Firefighters were called out to deal with a chemical leak in north Suffolk this morning.

The incident happened at the Birds Eye factory in Lowestoft with the county’s fire brigade called out shortly after 4am.

An automatic fire alarm initiated the call and once the first crew to arrive discovered the leak it was decided to send more appliances to assist.

The leak at the Whapload Road factory started was dealt with by nine crews, with the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service sending appliances from Lowestoft South, Woodbridge, Holbrook, Leiston and Saxmundham to the scene.

Firefighters wore breathing apparatus to tackle the incident and also deployed a single hose reel jet.

Ammonia used in the refrigerator process at the factory had leaked, and the situation was under control by just after 5am.

The ambulance service is also believed to have attended the incident, but a Birds Eye spokesman said no-one was injured as a result of the leak.

The company’s Lowestoft supply chain director Craig Hamilton said: “We’d like to thank our colleagues and the emergency services for their quick actions this morning which led to the safe management of this incident.

“The safety of our people is our highest priority and we will be conducting a thorough investigation to avoid this happening again.”