A FIRE raged through a hostel in Oldbury on Severn Nuclear Power Station in May 1966, with two dormitories completed razed to the ground.

The thirty men in Block F where the fire started were roused from their sleep to find the rooms and corridor filled with smoke, barely having enough time to escape by jumping through windows, losing almost everything they possessed.

A 21-year-old man was rushed to Frenchay Hospital by ambulance after suffering from burns on his arms and neck.

The hostel stated that burns were of varying degrees but were not serious. Other men received minor cuts, bruises and abrasions.

The fire, believed to have started in the drying room of F Block, was discovered at 3.15am by one worker who ran some 250 yards to the security gate house to raise the alarm.

Fanned by a strong south west wind, the wooden dormitory was burnt out within ten minutes, with flames leaping onto the next block, thankfully empty due to the alarm, but was impossible to save.

Over 300 men from the other blocks were temporarily evacuated. The number would have been much greater if men had not left the site to go home for the weekend.

For a time, five men were reported missing but were later found to be safe.

One worker, Thomas Donaldson said: “I was sleeping in Block F where the fire started when I heard the fire alarm go off.

"Out of pure curiosity I got up and looked out of the window and to my amazement, I saw the plance was burning.

“I knocked on the wall and gave the lads a shout, I got my friend out through the smoke and climbed out through the window as the flames reached the next room.

“Many of us are left with nothing at all. All I had was my vest and pants. I have lost in the region of £200 worth of money and clothes.”