Crews praised for 'incredibly hard' work at fire

Four crews remained at the scene in Witham on Saturday morning

Firefighters have been praised for their "incredibly hard" work to extinguish a blaze affecting a large warehouse building.

About 90 crew members from 11 stations battled flames near the A12 at Eastways, Witham, on Friday evening.

Huge plumes of smoke could be seen from across north Essex, prompting "a large number of calls" to the county's fire service.

Roads in the area have been reopened and an investigation to establish the cause of the incident is due to take place.

Crews were called to the industrial estate at about 16:40 BST and remained there overnight.

They immediately became concerned about the fire's proximity to a railway line, running between Norwich and London.

Smoke pouring out of the building could be seen more than 21 miles (33km) away in Chappel

In an update given on Saturday morning, station manager Jon Ford said: "I would ask that anyone coming onto the estate should drive slowly and be aware that we are working in the area.

"The smoke is clearing but we'd ask that people nearby should still keep their windows and doors closed."

It was estimated the affected building measured 80m by 50m (262ft by 164ft) and contained two premises.

The incident was scaled back to having six appliances at the scene by 22:00.

Group manager Ben Turner said on Friday: "Crews have worked incredibly hard this evening, as well as our control room colleagues who have been dealing with a large number of calls."

People living nearby were urged to shut their windows

This picture of the smoke was taken from Coggeshall

Passengers on trains passing the fire posted pictures of smoke pouring out of the building.

A video shared by the fire service also showed black smoke billowing into the sky.

No injuries have been reported, but people living in the area were advised to keep their doors and windows closed.