Flixborough 1974 chemical plant explosion marked with service

Floral tributes were laid in memory of those lost in the Flixborough disaster 40 years ago

A church service has taken place to mark the 40th anniversary of the Flixborough explosion.

The disaster at Nypro chemical plant, near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, left 28 people dead and 36 more injured, on 1 June, 1974.

More than 100 people attended the memorial at All Saint's Church in Flixborough.

Alistair Laurie, then a security guard at the site not on shift at the time, said the service was "marvellous".

"This church and these people in the village looked after us. We will never forget," he said.

Mr Laurie went straight to the site after hearing news of the explosion.

He said: "I knew straight away the death toll would be high.

"Anything you saw during the war was nothing compared to what happened here."

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive said there was "a massive vapour cloud explosion" at the site, which caused extensive damage and started numerous fires that burned for days.

The explosion at Nypro chemical plant killed 28 people and injured 36