Residents warned to keeps doors and windows closed as six crews fight blaze in Staffordshire

Smoke from the fire in Great Wyrley could be seen for miles around as five cargo containers went up in flames.

Around 40 firefighters were called to Cheslyn Dispersions in Landywood Lane just after noon yesterday where the containers, filled with highly flammable paint powder and thinners, were alight.

The flames also spread to a lorry trailer and forklift truck. It is not yet known how the blaze started.

Crews visited nearby Moat Hall Primary and neighbouring houses urging people to stay indoors and keep windows closed in case of contamination from burning chemicals.

Seven staff were working at the site at the time, including Chris Blundell who owns the business with husband Derek.

She said: "It's been a shock. I was in the office at the time and one of the lads ran over shouting there was a fire outside.

"We've been here for 14 years and nothing like this has ever happened before. We're just thankful that no one was injured."

Police closed a 300yd stretch of the road from the railway station as far as Landywood Green for several hours as fire crews worked at the scene.

Cannock-based watch commander David Williams said: "We evacuated all the factory buildings on the estate as a precaution as we weren't sure what chemicals we were dealing with or how they would react to being hosed with water.

"The incident caused a large amount of smoke which probably reached 50ft in height. We could see the smoke from Churchbridge. We managed to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading although there was some slight damage to the building itself."

Some canisters, believed to contain argon. which is used in the paint-making process, were affected by the heat but did not explode.

Severn Trent were also called to the scene to check whether any contaminated material joined water courses via the drains.

Great Wyrley Police tweeted about the fire, asking residents to keep their windows and doors closed.