FIRE crews have been praised for their swift response to an inferno which ripped through a Barrhead industrial estate.

The blaze took hold at the Leggat Plant Hire building in the early hours of Thursday morning as black smoke billowed over the town.

Despite the damage, residents expressed relief as it was announced nobody had been hurt during the incident.

Locals were left shocked by the fire, with many taking to social media to find out what was going on.

A few residents reported hearing a loud “bang” around 5am, while others had been awoken by fire engines.

Marion Cunningham tweeted: “Woke up to loud banging, went to investigate only to see house swarm in blue lights.

“I applaud the hard working fire service who have worked all night and continue to do so.”

Firefighters left the site on Thursday evening and have not returned, with no signs of immediate danger obvious after the early morning blaze.

While the burnt-out building remains closed, Leggat’s offices were open again at the beginning of this week.

Four fire engines tackled the fire, which has caused serious structural damage to the plant.

A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were alerted at 4.46am on Thursday to reports of a building fire in Barrhead.

“Operations control mobilised four fire engines to the scene at Blackbyres Road.

“There were no casualties.

“Crews left the scene after ensuring the area was safe.”

Along with the obvious damage to the building, there were other associated issues which affected residents living nearby.

Scottish Water reported temporary problems with their supply on Thursday morning as water was diverted to allow the firefighters to deal with the blaze. The issue was resolved later that day.

A Barrhead business through and through, Leggat Plant Hire was founded in the town in 1863.

It passed through four generations of the Leggat family before it was sold in 2007 for a fee which was reported at the time to be around £2million.

Leggat Plant is now owned by Brian and Edward Donaghy, who also own Bridgend Hire and Training in the town.

Neither of the plant’s owners could be reached for comment.