'Keep doors shut' warning six days after huge fire

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Steve Hubbard/BBC Huge cloud of dark grey smoke billowing from the ground, with flame visible in the lower half. There are bushes in front of the smoke. There is a single-storey building to the right and another to the left. There are people standing on the yard in between.Steve Hubbard/BBC
A huge fireball engulfed part of a recycling site

Some residents near the scene of a huge fire have been told to keep their doors and window shut six days after the blaze started.

The advice from the fire service applies to people affected by smoke from the incident at Sanders Lodge industrial estate in Rushden, Northamptonshire.

The service said all roads in the area had now been reopened and that firefighters still remained on site.

A spokesperson for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews were "undertaking checks of the site throughout today [Thursday] to monitor temperatures and dampen down remaining hotspots."

The fire started shortly before 06:30 BST on 23 May at a recycling warehouse on the industrial estate.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service Bales of light-coloured material stacked in four levels. There are clouds of dark grey smoke with flame visible behind the bales of plastic. The smoke in the middle of the picture is almost black. There is a warehouse building to the left with a brick ground floor and white panelled upper floor.Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service
Bales of plastic stored for recycling were damaged by the intense heat of the fire

A total of 15 crews from across Northamptonshire and surrounding counties were called to the site and a major incident was declared.

Roads were closed and people living nearby were told to keep their doors and windows shut.

Six days on, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) said: "Local residents that are still affected by the smoke are advised to continue keeping their windows shut".

Steve Hubbard/BBC Dark grey smoke funneling out from base to top in the centre of the photo. There are fields with hedges around the smoke plume and a road in the foreground.Steve Hubbard/BBC
A tornado-like smoke plume was visible from several counties

Some roads were temporarily closed on the industrial estate on Wednesday but have now been reopened.

NFRS said investigations into the cause of the fire were continuing.

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