Witnesses report hearing explosions as plumes of black smoke billow over town

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Firefighters worked through the night to tackle a huge blaze in a scrapyard in Bury, Greater Manchester.

On Friday morning residents were advised to stay indoors as clouds of black smoke billowed over the town.

At its height 27 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters were at the scene near Pimhole Road, where witnesses reported hearing explosions.

At 1.30am on Friday, Tony Hunter, an assistant chief fire officer with Greater Manchester fire and rescue service, tweeted that dozens of firefighters were battling the blaze, more than seven hours after it began.

Tony Hunter (@GMFRS_TonyH) Greater Manchester fire crews, supported by Lancashire FRS, working hard at scrap yard fire in Bury. Over 100 firefighters, 27 fire engines and specialist vehicles fighting a significant and challenging fire. pic.twitter.com/GSHXdyOuyw

The fire service’s group manager, Val Hussain,said: “Our crews are doing a great job preventing the fire from spreading despite the challenging conditions.”

The operation to extinguish the fire was scaled back at 3.45am, officials confirmed.

Dave Baxter, the incident commander, said: “﻿Significant progress has been made throughout the night and we’re now scaling back this incident. A large number of fire engines remain at the scene and are likely to be there for the rest of the day.”

A number of roads in the area remained closed including the A58 Rochdale Road from the Heywood Street.

The cause of the fire and the extent of its damage are not yet known.