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A large fire has broken out at what is believed to be the Walkers Crisps factory on an industrial estate in Leicester.
Nine crews from fire stations across the area, including the aerial platform ladder, have been called to the incident in Beaumont Leys.
Leicestershire Live reports that the fire broke out shortly before 11am today (Friday November 12).
Eyewitnesses at the scene said the incident was on the Walkers site in Leycroft Road.
The alarm was raised when workers at the site reported that the building was "filling with smoke".
A spokesperson for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said that the emergency call was received from the premises at 10.43am.
They said: "We received a call from the site stating that the factory filling with smoke, with the roof possibly on fire."
Smoke was seen billowing from the roof of the building.
The factory has been evacuated, the fire service has confirmed.
The emergency service did send a welfare vehicle from Kibworth to the factory, however, a spokesperson has confirmed that no-one has actually been injured in the incident
Walkers Crisps has been contacted for a comment on the fire.
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Fire crews from as far away as Market Harborough and Coalville are at the incident.
Walkers crisp fans jumped on Facebook to lighten the mood and crack a joke, as one user said: "Burnt to a crisp…"
Another wrote: "Shoot! Best get panic buying!"
A third referred to the former footie star from the TV ads, as they said: "Gary Lineker let loose with a box of matches."
It comes at a difficult time for the company, which is already experiencing supply chain issues, the Mirror reports.
Walkers previously confirmed that an IT upgrade is the reason behind the shortage of its crisps.
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It is understood the technical issue has been fixed but it is the knock-on effect that has been disrupting supplies.
A Walkers spokesman said: “A recent IT system upgrade has disrupted the supply of some of our products.
“Our sites are still making crisps and snacks but at a reduced scale.
“We're doing everything we can to increase production and get people's favourites back on shelves. We're very sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
- Fire
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