MORE than 20 firefighters spent several hours tackling a blaze which broke out at a South Lakes quarry.

Crews from Milnthorpe, Arnside, Kendal and Barrow attended the incident at Sandside in the early hours of Tuesday, when a fire broke out in a tank of bitumen.

The crews attended at 4am, after a worker on site spotted the flames, and some were still on scene at mid-day.

Station manager, Conrad Leather, said the operation was a 'delicate' , as the fire was in a 10-inch-thick layer of insulation between the bitumen and the exterior of the tank.

The fire was believed to have been caused by a leak - possibly of vapour - between the bitumen and the insulation.