Firefighters tackle large recycling centre blaze

Fire crews have been at the recycling centre near Exeter since about 01:00 BST

Firefighters are tackling a large blaze at a recycling centre near Exeter.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service was called to Greendale Business Park in Woodbury Salterton at about 01:00 BST.

Five fire engines are at the scene, which covers 1,200 sq m (12,917 sq ft) and has about 12 tonnes of mixed non-hazardous waste and 12 tonnes of cardboard, the emergency service said.

People living nearby are being advised to keep doors and windows closed due to smoke in the area.

Incident commander Simon McNamara said about 30 firefighters had been working on the fire at anyone one time, with ten fire service vehicles at the scene.

"The fact that the facility has been inside a building has proved challenging, it's retaining the smoke inside the building, making it quite arduous conditions for our firefighters," he said.

"We are working hard to try and improve those conditions, trying to get some vehicles in there to try and drag the pile of waste out so we can fully extinguish it."

'Seeing an increase'

Mr McNamara said the building was empty when the fire started so nobody was at risk.

"We are working to protect the property, save the building and reduce the level of damage for the business," he said.

He added this type of incident was becoming more common due to "the proliferation of rechargeable batteries that do get thrown in the waste sadly do often lead to this type of incident".