Firefighters managed to prevent a fire at a building supplies premises from turning into a potentially much more serious incident on Sunday night and the early hours of Monday.

They were called to Lesters Building Supplies, in Lane End Road, High Wycombe, following a 999 call to "smoke and explosions" at 11.13pm.

A Scania lorry used for carrying diggers was on fire and its tyres were exploding.

Three crews from High Wycombe Fire Station and one from Beaconsfield used two hose reels and one jet to bring the fire under control. They also moved 10 cylinders - including some containing acetylene - a safe distance away from the fire.

Acetylene cylinders can explode if exposed to heat. Had they come into contact with the fire, it would have been necessary to set up a 200-metre exclusion zone and cool them with water for 24 hours.

Watch Manager Ian Sharp from High Wycombe Fire Station, who was the Incident Commander, said: "There was a cylinder cage nearby containing 10 potentially explosive cylinders. We were able to clear them out of the way and stop the incident from escalating."

About 20 firefighters were at the scene for nearly four hours. After carrying out a reinspection, the final crew left at around 3am.

It is believed that the fire was started deliberately. About 500 litres of diesel leaked into a water course.