AN EXCLUSION zone set up on the Granby Industrial Estate in Weymouth after a workshop fire was fully lifted today.

The 100-metre cordon was introduced after a blaze involving acetylene cylinders broke out at Universal Engineering in Cumberland Drive early yesterday.

Part of the road - between its junctions with Albany Road and Cambridge Road - remained closed until early afternoon yesterday as firefighters cooled the cylinders down and the entrances to BHC Components and Universal Engineering remained closed until the early hours of this morning.

The remaining Dorset Fire and Rescue Service officers left the site at 6.50am today after the 24-hour cooling process was completed.

Fire crews from Weymouth, Portland and Dorchester were called to Universal Engineering shortly after 6am yesterday.

A 200-metre exclusion zone was introduced initially and nearby premises were evacuated and roads were closed.

There was traffic chaos around the Granby Industrial Estate as hundreds of employees were turned away by police as they tried to get into work.

The cordon was reduced to 100 metres once the blaze was out and emergency services involvement was scaled down.

But two Dorset Fire and Rescue Service appliances remained at the scene, with firefighters cooling the acetylene cylinders down.

A fire service spokesman said such cylinders had to be cooled for around 24 hours because otherwise they could explode. She said the exclusion zone would remain in place until fire crews confirmed it was safe for it to be lifted.

The spokesman said the extent of the damage to the workshop and what caused the blaze are not yet clear. She added: "The cause will be investigated."