Crews could remain at recycling plant fire for a further 48 hours

The first call was received at 6.04pm yesterday, Tuesday May 6. At one stage last night over 40 firefighters - including a crew from Crowle - were tackling the fire which involved thousands of tonnes of recycled plastic waste.

The fire was brought under control later on in the evening. Crews remained in place throughout the night to control the fire and stop it spreading to bales of recycled plastic in other parts of the plant.

Two teams still remain to dampen down and will stay on the scene until the fire is completely extinguished. Due to the volume of waste material involved, this could be well into Thursday and possibly Friday according to the officer in charge of the incident, Group Manager Paul McCourt. Close co-operation with the Environment Agency is ongoing to minimise any potential issues with local water courses.

The EMAS Hazardous Area Response Team were on standby in case of any ill effects from the smoke. Fortunately there were no injuries or breathing difficulties reported at the scene or across the wider area. Residents in the path of the smoke should keep doors and windows closed just as a precaution. It is hoped that the large amounts of smoke will dissipate over the next few hours.