Firefighters tackle huge fire at plastics recycling centre in Stoke as thick plume of smoke is visib
FIREFIGHTERS tackled a huge fire at a plastics recycling centre as thick plumes of black smoke could be seen from miles away.
Dramatic pictures show the fumes billowing into the sky from the Hanbury Plastics factory in Milton, Stoke-on-Trent, after the blaze broke out shortly after 9.30am this morning.
Six crews rushed to the scene after the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue service received 78 calls in ten minutes about the blaze.
Football matches on a nearby playing field were called off due to the potentially toxic fumes and residents could see the fire from over five miles away.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue said: "We currently have six appliances at the building as well as an aerial ladder and have been inundated with calls from the public who can see the smoke."
Police said it's believed no one was in the 60m x 100m building at the time the fire started and a cordon has been placed around the site on Redhills Road.
Resident Raymond Johnson, 68, said: "I was in the garden and could smell burning plastic.
"They have got to build factories somewhere but anything that has a chance of giving fumes like that should be further out.
"They should not be so close to houses. I have never seen smoke like that before."
Graham Shaw, 63, said: "It questions whether the plastic factory should be built so close to residential properties.
"It is the most smoke I have ever seen. The question is whether it is toxic."
Michael Gorton, 51, said: "They are just letting it burn out. It is going to be going for days.
"I have horses in the fields - if the wind changes they are going to die."
Locals have been sharing pictures on social media showing the huge smoke plume rising into the sky.
Some have reported seeing it from as far as five miles away while others described the ash falling on nearby villages.
Phil on Twitter said: "Ash falling like a Volcanic ash cloud in Birches Head/Northwood!"
Firefighters say they are expecting to remain at the scene overnight while investigations into what caused the blaze are carried out.
Locals have been sharing pictures on social media showing the huge smoke plume cascading into the sky.
Some have reported seeing it from as far as four miles away while others described the ash falling on nearby villages.
Phil on Twitter said: "Ash falling like a Volcanic ash cloud in Birches Head/Northwood!"
Firefighters say they are expecting to remain at the scene overnight while investigations into what caused the blaze are carried out.
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