PARTS OF Plympton were covered in choking smoke yesterday when Langage power station fired up for the first time.

Local workers said that a fog of smelly smoke descended across the town as far as Marsh Mills.

Plympton firemen were called to Langage Industrial Estate by workers who thought there was a fire.

"There

was a rancid, burning smell that lasted more than 20 minutes," Nicky

Randle of PEG Precision Engineering, close to the main gate of the

power station, said.

"I could see it coming down through the trees opposite and thought someone had a fire.

"We went out to look and you could hardly see the factory about 200 metres away.

"It must have been worse for car drivers.

"They didn't warn us it was going to happen. The smell was horrible."

One

of her colleagues, who did not want to be named, said: "First of all I

thought a machine had overheated. It was a hot, burning smell.

"It was like a fog, but smelt of overheating engines."

Tony Harris, co-owner of C Millar and Sons nearby, said: "It's disgraceful. I didn't think you were allowed to do that nowadays.

"They probably thought it was OK because a lot of people on the industrial estate finish work at 2.30pm on a Friday.

"The first part was absolutely horrendous. You couldn't see up the road.

"A big plume of smoke was just pouring down the road. It was choking."

He estimated that the smoke lasted for about 45 minutes.

Richard

House, watch manager at Plympton Fire Station, said they had been

warned that the power station was being fired up for the first time.

"When anything is manufactured there is an oil residue.

"The smoke was created when the oil residue was burnt off the pipes and the chimney.

"We

knew it was going to be fired up today, but it generated quite a lot of

smoke and caused alarm because people thought there was a fire.

"There's no cause for alarm, and I have no concerns about safety."

A

Centrica employee outside the power station said the smoke was normal

when a turbine was first fired up. He said the smoke probably contained

dust.

Gina Stokes, who lives in Chaddlewood, said: "The smoke was so thick we could hardly see the other houses in the street.

"It would have been nice if they had warned us it was coming because my house was full of smoke.

"When I went outside it gave me a sore throat.

"My daughter was at the aquarium and said you could smell it on the Barbican."

A

spokeswoman for Alstom, which built the power station, said: "We

carried out the first firing and this released a plume of smoke because

of dust burning off.

"There was no danger to the public.

"We regret any inconvenience caused to people, but it's difficult to know how we could have warned everyone.

"The

new turbine has been run up to speed and stabilised. It will be

producing electricity and connected to the grid in the coming days."

She said the second turbine would be fired up in the next couple of weeks.