Firefighters were called out in the early hours after a storage unit containing noodles caught fire at a factory in North Shields .
Crews from Wallsend and Tynemouth responded to an automatic fire alarm at 3.43am on Saturday at Rehman Sweet Centre in Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate.
They were met with the factory, which specialises in traditional Indian sweet and savoury snacks, being filled with thick black smoke as a result of a metal storage vat containing noodles catching fire.
Firefighters used breathing apparatus, positive pressure ventilation and a hose reel to extinguish the flames.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the vat had been completely destroyed while the snack factory had suffered 20% smoke damage as a result of the blaze.
