Fire by Heathrow Airport 'seen for miles'

The fire began in a scrapyard near the airport

A fire which broke out at a scrapyard near Heathrow Airport and led to large smoke plumes has been brought under control.

Ten fire engines and 50 firefighters tackled the fire, which began in Hounslow West shortly after 1620 BST.

At its height 110 cars due to be scrapped were on fire, along with an old diesel tank. The flames threatened to ignite gas cylinders at the site.

The fire was under control by about 1910 BST.

At that point new firefighting teams took over to continue a damping down operation.

Changed runways

Ben Moore could see the fire from Richmond Hill, several miles away.

He said there were "big rising plumes of smoke, thick and dense (and) black smoke".

"You could not miss it," he added.

Airport services were not affected by the fire, Heathrow operator BAA said.

Flights due to take off from the north runway were switched to the airport's other runway to avoid the plume.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "Firefighters from Heathrow, Richmond and other surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

"The cause of the fire is not known at this stage."