According to the company, firefighters attended the scene after a "small" explosion in the oven of one of its pair of webs. No one was hurt during the incident, although the affected press will remain out of action while the Fire Brigade and insurers investigate the cause of the incident, which happened at 2.30pm last Friday (1 May).

"Most importantly there were no casualties, but there will be some disruption. However, this will be minimised by utilising our resources across the group," said St Ives chief executive Patrick Martell.

Edenbridge is part of the group's Direct division that also includes St Ives Crayford, which last month entered a consultation over the the proposed closure of the site.