Thousands of pallets destroyed in two fires

Thousands of wooden pallets went up in flames as two separate fires spread to buildings in the Black Country. About 4,000 pallets caught fire in one.

During a blaze at Wolverhampton firm L & J Packaging Ltd a canteen, office block and lorry were destroyed.

Another 300 pallets were destroyed in a fire at Smith's Pallets, Croxstalls Avenue, Bloxwich, which also spread to a temporary building.

Up to 20 firefighters spent more than three hours tackling the Wolverhampton fire, which started at 11pm.

Crews returned today to damp down the wreckage.

Today, Tristan Rose, manager of the Wulfrun Trading Estate-based firm, which employs 12 people, said: "We are just salvaging what we can from the rubbish. The canteen and office block have been completely destroyed and there is no chance of salvaging the lorry.

"We're open for business and all of our staff are in.

"I'm not able to say the cost of the damage at the moment but each of those pallets cost between £1 and £3 to buy."

Mr Rose said they had a similar fire eight years ago, adding: "We were up and running the same day but it took us weeks to get the business back to normal."

West Midlands Police spokesman Lee Page said the fire was not suspicious. Investigations continue into the cause of the other fire.