A fire broke out yesterday at a British plant owned by French speciality chemicals maker Rhodia, sending a cloud of phosphorus into the air and prompting a police health warning to local residents.

The company and emergency services said later that the fire was under control and the phosphorus cloud had dispersed, reducing any health risk.

Rhodia UK Ltd said the fire broke out at one of its manufacturing units at Oldbury, near Birmingham in central England.

"In conjunction with the local emergency services the incident was brought under control by 1415 (GMT).

There were no injuries sustained to any site personnel as a result of the fire," the company said in a statement. The company gave no information about any damage to the plant, which makes phosphorus derivatives used in industry and processing markets.

A West Midlands Fire and Rescue spokesman said earlier there had been a leak from a process using phosphorus. "It is causing a small fire as phosphorus reacts with air," he said.

The fire sent up a thick, low-hanging cloud of phosphorus, leading police to warn local people to keep doors and windows closed to avoid any health problems.

Phosphorus can cause eye irritation, sore throats and shortness of breath as well as skin rashes, the police said.

The police said later that emergency services had scaled down their alert. The wind had dispersed the cloud, greatly reducing any risk to health, they said.