People told to close windows after chemical incident

A white mist was seen emerging from the Dow site

People living near a chemical plant were told to keep windows and doors shut after a white mist began emerging.

South Wales Police advised the precaution following the incident at Dow's site in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan.

Firefighters attended with several crews and issued the same advice as police.

Residents in Dinas Powys, Sully and Penarth were affected and have now been told they can open doors and windows.

The fire service posted an all-clear message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The incident happened at Dow's site in Barry and affected people in Barry, Sully and Penarth

Jon Darke, from Palmerston, Barry, about a mile-and-a-half from the plant, said: "They usually test the alarms every Monday afternoon at 3pm, so we're used to hearing that.

"But when you hear it on Saturday, it means there’s something going on."

It could, the 69-year-old said, be heard for miles.

"It’s a bit worrying. All the fumes and smoke were heading to Sully due to the wind."

Resident Jon Darke said it was "a bit worrying"

Silicone has been produced at the site, previously called Dow Corning, since 1952. About 630 people work there.

A Dow spokeswoman said it had experienced a chemical release.

She added: "The cause of the release was quickly identified and contained and at 16:50 BST the all-clear signal was given and shared with the community.

"There have been no resulting injuries on the site nor any reported in the community."

The company will be investigating the cause of the release and identifying measures to prevent this type of incident reoccurring in the future.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended at the scene