Fire breaks out sending large plumes of smoke across Hull

A huge fire at a plastics factory near Hull has been brought under control, the fire service has said.

The blaze in Saxon Way in Hessle sent flames high into the air with plumes of thick smoke spreading across the city.

A number of houses and other buildings in the area were evacuated and residents were told to keep windows closed.

There are no reports of any injuries and fire officer Phil Leake said firefighters would remain overnight.

Plumes of smoke could be seen across the city

"We have got it under control. We're confident that we've got it surrounded," said Mr Leake.

"The problem with it is that the roof has collapsed. It's a deep-seated plastic fire so it is going to take us some time to extinguish.

"But we're hoping we could lift some of the cordons and, more importantly, get some of the public back into the properties as soon as we can."

Mr Leake said he hoped people could return home in the "next few hours".

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service said 14 appliances were called to the scene just after 16:00 GMT.

Specialist teams from the police and ambulance service also attended.

The service urged people to avoid the area which is about eight miles (13km) west of Hull city centre.

Homes surrounding the factory in Hessle were evacuated

Cory Simmonds, 27, said he was told by the police to leave his property on nearby Ferry Road due to the blaze.

"We were very close, it's awful, the fire is just raging. The smoke that came off from it, was thick, black smoke.

"There were bangs going off and the house was literally shaking. The windows were moving when the bangs were going off, it was quite awful really."

Posts on social media showed photographs of clumps of a black material, which had had "showered" the nearby area.