A noise so loud it 'sounded like something was going to explode' woke people in the early hours - leaving them baffled. Neighbours took to social media to investigate the source of the noise, saying it sounded 'industrial' and like a 'pressure sound'.
Ramsbottom residents were woken at around 2am on Saturday (January 6) before discussing were the intrusive sound was coming from on social media. One said 'it woke me up, so loud', while another said 'it really is loud, I panicked thinking something was going to explode'.
The mystery continued as Facebook users questioned if 'any internal noise would carry like this', affecting the whole town. One person said it 'it sounds like the M62 is outside my front door'.
Some suggested it might have been a police helicopter overhead. While residents just a short distance away in Stubbins could not hear anything.
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Some started to think the noise was coming from the nearby Essity paper mill on Stubbins Street - which turned out to be correct. The mill confirmed that a power failure caused one of the machines to shut down quickly as a safety precaution.
The shutdown involved 'venting steam from a pressurised vessel which is unfortunately a noisy operation'.
A spokesperson for Essity told the Manchester Evening News: "A power failure to one of the control systems made it necessary to shut down a machine very quickly as a safety precaution. This involved venting steam from a pressurised vessel which unfortunately is a noisy operation.
"Although we regret any disturbance to nearby residents, it was important to carry out this operation as quickly as possible and in a controlled manner – and the noise just reflected a safety system performing exactly as it was designed to do.
"Once the system was depressurised, engineers were able to make the necessary adjustments and paper production was back to normal within a few hours."
