FIREFIGHTERS battled for more than three hours last night to control an "intense" blaze at Alcan in Rogerstone.

But though at one stage there were fears that a worker was still in the factory, nobody is believed to have been injured in last night's inferno.

The fire in a mill at the Tregwilym Road factory is the second within a week to hit Rogerstone after a devastating blaze at Avana Bakery on Sunday.

The alarm was raised at 6.20pm at Alcan yesterday, after the fire began in the basement of a hot-strip mill which is currently undergoing a £6 million renovation.

Seventy firefighters were called to the scene with at least eight fire-engines and two foam generators.

Chief fire officer Steve Martin said: "We were faced with quite an intense fire in an underground basement area.

"The fire was so severe that the crews were unable to gain access because the heat and the smoke were so intense.

"The fire was tackled by using two high-expansion foam generators, which filled the basement area with foam and extinguished the fire. "The fire did not spread into the rest of the factory." He added: "The fire investigator has attended the scene already and we do not believe this fire to have been set deliberately. There were individuals using hot-cutting tools nearby.

"If the officer on the scene had not called out as many crews as he did, this could have been a great deal worse."

One fire-engine was still at the scene this morning as firefighters continued cooling-down operations.

Alcan's chief engineer, Sandy Fraser, said: "All persons are now accounted for, and because the mill was being renovated this won't affect production. "We appreciate the efforts of the fire service in this matter."

Works manager Duncan Simpson added that this is the first week of a two-week Christmas shutdown at the mill while it is upgraded.

He said today: "It looks as though the probable cause was a contractor, who had been welding at the high level in the mill and some sparks fell into the basement, despite all efforts, a hot-work permit and procedures being followed.

"We are starting a full investigation this morning once we can pump out all the foam and deluge the fire brigade have put in the basement.

"In terms of damage, there's not a lot down there, but where the heat was venting out it could have affected the gear- box and motor of the mill.

"We are moving in extra resources so we will hopefully still be able to restart the mill on January 3."

*Three children were questioned by police after Sunday's blaze at the Avana Bakery, in Rogerstone, which destroyed a floor of the factory. They are now on police bail.