ANGLIAN Water managers have praised a quick-thinking milkman whose prompt action helped stop a blaze spreading too far through one of their sewage treatment sites.

ANGLIAN Water managers have praised a quick-thinking milkman whose prompt action helped stop a blaze spreading too far through one of their sewage treatment sites.

As reported in yesterday's Evening Star, flames were seen coming from the sewage treatment plant in Cotton, near Stowmarket, at about 3am.

A fire crew from Eye found part of a room well alight, but were able to bring it under control in just under two hours.

The plant serves more than 1,200 people and a spokesman for the firm stressed there was no operational impact on customers.

Company spokesman Dan Baker said: “We are enormously grateful for the swift actions of the milkman in notifying the emergency services to this fire.

“There has been considerable damage caused to the roof of the panel room and to one of the electrical panels, but things could certainly have been a lot worse if the fire brigade had not been alerted so promptly.

“The fire will not have any operational impact and local customers should not notice anything different. There will be a couple of lorries per day tankering waste away while repairs are carried out, but this should not cause any disturbance or inconvenience as the site is in a rural area.

“An initial assessment by the fire service suggested this was due to an electrical fault, although this remains under investigation as there has been some recent vandalism at the site.”