Medway's massive natural gas facility opened in 2005, serves a fifth of the UK and is getting bigger.

It puts us on the industrial map, but for the village lying in its shadow the expansion is worrying.

Scores of residents fear what will happen if things go wrong at Grain LNG, as Dan Bloom reports.

Almost 2,000 villagers would have 'no escape route' if disaster strikes at Medway's £1 billion natural gas plant.

More than 50 Isle of Grain residents packed out their village hall last week to voice fears over the nearby liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.

The village's only escape road goes within yards of the world's biggest gas tanks, according to evacuation plans passed to the Messenger.

The 2008 plans were obtained by salesman Jack Hope. He lives less than a mile from Grain LNG, which is owned by the National Grid.

The grandfather-of-six raised fears the council had not devised a good enough escape plan, due to be updated later this year, and almost 300 villagers have now joined a Facebook group he started.

Many want a multi-million pound 'escape road' as part of the updated plans.

grain: the facts

grain village dates back to ancient times and has had a colourful history because of its position in the medway estuary.

it was home to military defences guarding the mouth of the thames, with the most prominent, grain tower, being built in 1855.

st james' church existed in the 12th century and underwent extensive rebuilding works about 100 years ago.

the first stage of lng grain in its current form cost £130 million and was completed in july 2005.

since then two expansions featuring five of the world's largest gas tanks were announced, and the last tank is almost complete.

the firm is exploring a new expansion which, if built, could be operational by the winter of 2015.

liquefied natural gas is the gas used in homes and business, but chilled to minus 161 degrees to make it easier to transport.

at this temperature and pressure it enters a liquid state, which takes up 600 times less space but requires complex technology to store safely.

contractors at grain celebrated a million injury-free hours in 2006 by donating £20,000 to local charities.

gas arrives at grain lng on some of the world's largest ships, from fields such as in north africa and the middle east.

Mr Hope told the Medway Messenger: "We feel like the whole village has been ignored. The site has been building up for some years, but we never raised concerns before because we didn't realise the extent of the problem."

The 54-year-old, who has about 30 family members in the village, clashed last week with parish councillors.

Among them was retired policeman Cllr Michael Dale, 71, who has researched an escape road for three years.

Cllr Dale revealed he knew about the problems but had kept quiet because he feared house prices would drop.

He said: "These ruthless estate agents devalue all our houses. The same thing happened when they threatened to build Cliffe Airport."

Both men claim there are obvious flaws in the village evacuation plan, which tells residents to 'go in, stay in, tune in'.

Mr Hope said: "If we have a serious gas cloud, the first ignition source it hits we could be in trouble. That includes radios and televisions."

Cllr Dale added: "When the road closes, fire engines and ambulances are unable to circumvent the site. There seems to be no rational plan to deal with the 2,000 people at Grain.

"The problem lies almost directly with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) not fulfilling its requirements."

The HSE is responsible for enforcing the laws which keep workers and villagers safe, but a spokesman said it was not responsible for an escape road.

The spokesman added: "Off-site emergency arrangements and planning permissions are primarily the responsibility of the local authority, Medway Council."

Mr Hope's fears worsened last month when he asked the HSE for updated maps - and staff refused for reasons of national security.

His daughter Lisa Hood, 30, said: "We don't doubt legal systems are in place, but human error or terrorism are not things we can control.â€

Rochester and Strood MP Mark Reckless has taken up the fight and met Grain LNG bosses last Friday.

Mr Reckless said: "I am assured safety controls are good, but it seems to me having an emergency road would make a potential evacuation easier.

"Grain LNG have agreed to meet with Michael Dale to look at his research."

The last disaster involving LNG was in 2004, when a faulty boiler triggered an explosion in Algeria which killed 27 people.

The Grain site is a few hundred yards from a BP oil terminal, and both were a few miles from a huge oil blaze at the Kingsnorth Industrial Estate last month.

A National Grid spokesman said the LNG plant was safe, adding: "Grain LNG maintain regular contact and work with the regulatory authorities to meet all the safety standards set out in the UK. We have always worked closely with the community at Grain."

The spokesman denied National Grid was approaching villagers to use compulsory purchase powers on their homes, but added a road would only be built "if deemed necessary by the HSE".

A council spokesman added: "Since 2008, there have been several reviews of the emergency plan taking into account any changes or developments to the site. These raised no concerns over the competency of the plan or for safety of members of the public."

Despite the assurances, Cllr Dale was not satisfied.

"It is a very serious issue," he said. "I feel it's worthy of the European Court of Human Rights."

Villagers are holding a meeting to discuss the issues in Grain Village Hall from 7.30pm on Thursday, July 21.