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The area around the Buncefield depot in Hemel Hempstead, Herts, should get "special status", said an inquiry team. And people affected should be getting Government cash to help them get back to normal, the report added.

The Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board also said specific ministers should be given responsibility for overseeing the response to similar incidents.

Inquiry chairman Lord Newton - former Conservative social security secretary Tony Newton - said: "Our report calls on all those involved in dealing with major incidents to work together so that the emergency preparedness, response and recovery arrangements are made more effective."

He added: "The Buncefield incident had a huge impact on the lives of local residents and businesses, and we would like to acknowledge the great resilience of the local community and business in the ongoing recovery effort to bring about a return to social normality."

The investigation board was set up by the Health and Safety Commission following the explosion in December 2005.

The Buncefield blast triggered the largest fire in peacetime Europe. It was sparked when a fuel storage tank was left overflowing for more than 40 minutes, experts said.

A report found that unleaded petrol was being piped into a tank at the depot for 11 hours before the explosion.

More than 300 people were forced from their homes in the hours after the blast. As many as 30 families had not been able to return a year later. No one died in the blast but 43 were injured, two seriously.

The blast cost local businesses more than £70 million, a study found. Many business premises were destroyed or badly damaged and four out of five had to move out of the area to continue trading, researchers found.