FIREFIGHTERS and members of staff were taken to hospital after a chemical leak at Margate's Thor Chemicals plant last night. Residents in neighbouring houses in Chapel Hill, Ramsgate Road, Elmly Way and Farley Road were told to stay inside and shut windows and doors.

About 40 firefighters from across east Kent, including the specialist chemical unit from Dover, were called to the Ramsgate Road plant at 9.45pm when staff reported a leaking 800-kilo drum of chlorine. Firemen in specialist ‘gas suits’ carried out the initial investigation.

Station office Mick White, of Kent Fire Brigade headquarters, said: “They found that the staff had presence of mind to activate a scrubbing machine to break down the chlorine before they evacuated the building. The chemical was contained within a purpose built safety system inside the plant.”

Some of the chemical gas escaped through the plant ventilation system and affected 14 firemen and five Thor Chemicals workers. They were taken to the nearby Queen Mother Hospital suffering from eye, nose and throat irritation after inhaling the fumes.

Station Office White said: “A small gas cloud hung over the factory for a while. Fortunately it was a very low concentration of the chemical - high levels are extremely dangerous.”

Police closed the road between the Victoria traffic lights at Ramsgate Road, Margate, and the Pearce Signs roundabout at Westwood for the duration of the incident.

The road was reopened at 1am and the last fire crews left the factory by 1.45am.