A “nuclear war zone” is all that remains of an industrial estate devastated by fire.

Burnt out cars, exploded gas canisters, charred trees and collapsed buildings are all that is left of the White House industrial estate in Dancers Hill Road in Potters Bar.

Jack Georgiou, 60, who had a business restoring Triumph TR6 engines, described what was left of the estate.

He said: “All I can see is complete devastation. It looks like a nuclear war zone. The entire place is gone.

“It’s black everywhere. It’s terrible, terrible.

“My building’s gone. I had an aluminium container. That’s melted completely. How can an aluminium container melt into nothing?

“I’ve never seen anything like this and I hope I never do so again. I can’t absorb it.”

The Brooklands Park resident added he had only been able to save one of his cars intact from the blaze.

“My van’s burnt out. Everything is just flattened and gone.”

At least ten businesses are thought to have been gutted by the blaze.

Barry Sturdgess of DG Autos, who had a workshop a few doors down from Mr Georgiou, also watched his premises go up in flames.

He said the fire had started at the back of the Barnet Accident Repair Centre and quickly spread.

Some people have speculated that a small rubbish fire, which spread to neighbouring trees, was the cause of the blaze.

The Enfield resident added: “It was the hottest day ever here. The ground was so dry, many of the buildings were made of wood.

"No wonder the fire quickly escalated.”

He said the fire had not reached the pub car park but everything else had been flattened.

“The fire brigade didn’t have enough water, which meant they had to pump water from the lake. The damage could have been much less otherwise."

Bob Deakin, of F&M Garden Machinery, narrowly escaped losing his business.

He said he had been desperately trying to move gas canisters from the auto repair centre with three other men, but had been unable to get all of them out in time.

“Everything went up with a bang. It was like World War Three had begun.”

He added the fire spread to Complimentary Sampling, which packages free samples of products like deodorant and toothpaste, all of which exploded.

Mr Deakin, 27, worked to help other businesses save as much as they could from the blaze.

“I’ve never heard anything like it. There were bits of stuff flying past my head. The heat was unbearable.”

He added he was “very sorry” for those who had lost their livelihoods.

“The area’s all cordoned off now. We’re all sitting working out what to do next.

“We will try and help the other businesses all we can, we’ve got space to accommodate them.”