Bank of Dave star spots Warburtons fire from helicopter

Dave Fishwick

A large fire has broken out at a bread factory in Lancashire.

The blaze at the Warburtons site in Burnley sent a plume of smoke hundreds of feet into the air, and was caught on camera by Dave Fishwick - founder of the credit union Burnley Savings and Loan - as he flew nearby in his helicopter.

On a Facebook post from his aircraft, he said he had called police and the fire service to alert them.

A spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said 12 crews were tackling the fire, which broke out at about 14:45 BST, on the Billington Road industrial estate.

Fishwick, 55, who became a household name after setting up the credit union in his hometown and inspiring the films Bank of Dave and its sequel, narrated what he could see from the cockpit of his helicopter.

He said: "I'm flying over Burnley and there's a huge fire down there...

"I hope everybody is OK. It's unbelievable how big the fire is.

"I better call the fire brigade now and a just make sure they know about it.

"The big factory roof looks like it is going up. It looks like it is Warburtons."

The fire service advised anyone nearby to keep their windows and doors closed.

Dave Fishwick

A spokesperson for Warburtons said the building had been safely evacuated, and the cause of the fire - or extent of the damage - was not yet known.

Self-made millionaire Fishwick made his fortune from selling vans, and founded Burnley Savings and Loan in 2011 to give local people affordable credit.

The Netflix film Bank of Dave, which was a fictionalised account of his attempts to get a banking licence for his credit union, was released in 2023, starring Rory Kinnear.

Warburtons is the UK's largest family-owned bakery firm, founded in 1876 in Bolton.

In an update at about 21:00, the fire service said it would be at the scene for the "foreseeable future" and asked people not to fly drones near the site, as it could make it difficult for its own drones to survey the scene.

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