Wellingborough depot blaze: Crews remain at scene

Vehicles were destroyed in the huge blaze that engulfed a recycling plant in Wellingborough

Firefighters have remained at the scene of a huge recycling plant fire, which caused a neighbouring train line to close.

It broke out at the Cawleys depot on Finedon Road Industrial Estate in Wellingborough on Friday afternoon.

East Midlands Trains said there was now a good service after its London route between Kettering and Bedford was forced to shut at the time.

Northamptonshire Fire Service said an investigation was under way.

Group Commander Jason Urbani said the fire was not thought to have been started deliberately, but the cause was not yet known.

Trains had to be cancelled after a fire took hold at the recycling centre, next to a railway

He added there had been fears that two acetylene gas cylinders could explode, so a 200-metre cordon was put in place while these were monitored.

"An initial fire investigation has commenced and specially trained fire investigators will arrive in the next 24 to 48 hours," he said.

"We liaised with the rail network and advised them because of the dense smoke and cylinders."

About 35 fire fighters were at the scene at the height of the blaze, which mainly involved cardboard, while plumes of black smoke could be seen up to 15 miles (24km) away, the fire service said.

The blaze was believed to have started in or around one of the main sorting sheds, the fire service said

Mr Urbani said about 10 firefighters were still damping down the site, with the blaze thought to have broken out in or around one of the main sorting sheds in the recycling yard at about 14:45 BST.

People were able to return to neighbouring properties and local roads were reopened within a few hours on Friday, he added.

He advised any local residents or business owners who could still smell the smoke emanating from the plant to keep their windows and doors closed.

The fire could be seen from miles around