Worker says it is a ‘miracle’ nobody was hurt in an explosion at a factory near Grantham

A worker at a business near Grantham says it is a ‘miracle’ nobody was hurt in an explosion there on Tuesday.

The woman, who does not wish to be named, said the explosion could be heard through the site at the Autocraft Drivetrain Solutions factory in Belton.

The explosion happened in a large container where EV batteries are kept.

The worker told the Journal that the incident resulted in lithium fumes being emitted and people living nearby were told to keep their doors and windows closed. But she complained that nobody at the factory was allowed to go home.

She added: “The door of the container was blown open. It happened with such force that it was bent.

“People walk past there all the time. It is a miracle nobody was hurt. The staff are worried because we have asked if we are going to have to work with these kinds of batteries in future but they have not let us know.”

Fire crews from Grantham and Sleaford were called to the incident at 2.07pm on Tuesday and footage taken by a police drone was posted on social media.

The crews left the scene at 7pm but Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said it would be making regular inspections.

A spokesperson for Autocraft Solutions Group said: “We can confirm that there was an incident at our site on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 16, in one of our EV battery storage containers.

“Thankfully, nobody was hurt and, because of the procedures we had in place, we were able to contain the issue. The safety of our people is our absolute priority, and the immediate focus was on protecting staff and keeping them informed.

“We’d like to thank the emergency services for their help in dealing with this within a few short hours. We are working with the relevant bodies to carry out a full investigation to identify any future learnings and will continue to provide staff with regular updates.”