NEIGHBOURS told of the ‘horrendous’ giant flames which caused them to evacuate their homes.

Trevor Sloan, 36, who lives opposite the mill, said: “I saw the flames from my bedroom window.

“We were told to evacuate the house and just as we came out the we could feel the heat off the factory.”

His wife Jayne, 37, said: “It was horrendous. The glow from the fire and the fire itself was frightening.

“There were fire engines and police everywhere by 2am and we were told we had to evacuate.”

Their son Alex, nine, was woken by the blaze. He said: “I just woke up and thought it was the sun rising through the window.”

The family including their five-year-old daughter Abbie drove to a relative’s house in Higher Antley Street, Accrington.

Vicky Forshaw, 38, whose house is next door to the mill but is separated by an alleyway, said: “I could just see the flames everywhere.

"I was just praying the chimney stays up. It was frightening. The flames were half way up the chimney.

“There were flames everywhere, the heat coming from the fire was pretty intense.”

Vicky and her two children were evacuated to the civic theatre.

Alison Allton, 46, of Rhyddings Street, who gave firefighters keys to a side gate to gain access, said: “There was all this commotion outside and I could see the fire was fierce.”

Arnot Bridges, 57, of Rhyddings Street, said: “It was like crash, bang wallop the way they got everybody to safety.”

Maxine Ashworth, 38, who lives opposite and called 999, said: “I heard crackling but I thought it was the rain until I looked out of the window and saw an orange glow.

“I thought the windows were going to crack and I wanted to get my children out of the bedroom.”