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Crews tackle major fire at waste recycling site

Thick black and grey smoke was filmed billowing from the site

A huge fire has broken out at a waste company's building on an industrial site in Cambridgeshire.

Crews were called to Biffa's waste management transfer station, containing 200 tonnes of "well alight" materials, in St Neots at 10:52 BST.

A fire service spokesperson said more than 25 firefighters, including crews from Bedfordshire, would be "at this incident for a prolonged period of time".

Video footage posted on social media showed a huge plume of smoke coming from the building, on Marston Road in Eynesbury, with drone shots showing a dilapidated unit.

Drone Photos Sandy An aerial view of an industrial site. In the middle is a green metal building which is on fire. A large cloud of grey thick smoke is coming from the building. There are several cars around the site.Drone Photos Sandy
Biffa confirmed the blaze was at its site in Eynesbury - between Cromwell Road and the London-Edinburgh railway line

A Biffa spokesperson said: "We can confirm all employees were quickly and safely evacuated after a fire broke out at our waste transfer station in St Neots this morning.

"No injuries have been reported."

Shariqua Ahmed/BBC Rob Foreman has short grey hair and is wearing an orange hi-vis jacket. The background is blurred but there are several buildings and cars parked on the road.Shariqua Ahmed/BBC
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service station commander Rob Foreman advised nearby residents to keep their windows and doors shut

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze involved the whole building.

Station commander Rob Foreman said it contained "a mixture of household waste and wood".

"It is non-hazardous... so isn't causing much of an issue, but we would urge the residents around the surrounding area to keep windows and doors closed," he said.

Richard Knights/BBC Piles of charred wood in front of a burnt out corrugated iron building.Richard Knights/BBC
The fire service says it expects crews to remain at the site all day

The East Coast Main Line runs alongside the industrial estate.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We were made aware of a fire near the railway at St Neots at 11:22 and sent response teams to support the emergency services and assess any risk to the rail network.

"The incident has been monitored closely, but there was no impact on the safe running of trains. Our teams have now stood down, although we continue to monitor the situation."

Hayley Curtis A green metal building is on fire. Large flames and thick black and grey smoke are coming from the building. There are several trees around it.Hayley Curtis
Pillars of smoke could be seen rising from the fire

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Naomi Pickett In the foreground is an arable field. In the distance, there is a large cloud of thick grey smoke rising into the blue, cloudless sky.Naomi Pickett

At the scene, BBC reporter Shariqua Ahmed said she could see plumes of smoke from about five miles (8km) away as she drove towards St Neots.

"The air is thick with smoke and there is a lot of ash," she said.

"I can see at least five fire engines and I believe there are more at the other end of the area where I am.

"There are thick clouds of smoke and you can smell the burning material in the air.

"Nearby residents have told me there were embers landing in a dry field close to the site and they were very concerned because everything is so dry."

Shariqua Ahmed/BBC A firefighter is standing on a road in the middle of an industrial estate. Several cars are parked on the road. In the background, smoke is rising from a building.Shariqua Ahmed/BBC

Staff at a neighbouring car garage, Vanquish Autos, said they had seen a "big puff of smoke go up and then we all ran".

One worker said a firefighter had told him "about 200 tonnes of mixed recycling had gone up [in flames]".

A drone operator from Drone Photos Sandy said as the fire took hold they heard several "loud explosions", with these noises also reported on social media.

Lee Curtis A green metal building is on fire. Large flames and thick grey smoke are coming from the building. There are several trees and bushes in the foreground.Lee Curtis

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