Businesses counting the cost of huge Smethwick fire
Businesses based near the site of the Black Country recycling plant hit by a huge fire say they have lost hundreds of pounds with takings down by up to 70 per cent.
The inferno at the Jayplas site, in Smethwick, saw more than 200 firefighters battle the blaze at its height, and cause an estimated £6 million of damage.
Small businesses located near the Dartmouth Road plant are now also counting the cost of the fire.
They said the closure of roads, schools and factories in the area resulted in the loss of passing trade which they rely on.
The majority saw very few customers on Monday and Tuesday and even yesterday they said their shops were quiet.
Proprietor Peter Larkman, who has run Pete's Stores in Brasshouse Lane with his wife Rebecca for 48 years, said they had lost a lot of money.
Mr Larkman, aged 76, said: "You have to be philosophical about it, because there was nothing we could do. Business is already bad at the moment as it is, so to lose two days of trade like this is really hard to take.
"There was just no passing trade and no school children coming. All the residents were told to stay in doors, it mean we virtually had to close. But the thing is when your closed you still have to run the fridges, and we still have the bills to pay."
Mohammad Mushtaq, owner of Brasshouse Lane Convenience Store, said his takings were down by 70 per cent on Monday and nearly 50 per cent on Tuesday.
The 42-year-old who has ran the shop for the past seven years said: "We would have lost around £400 to £500 this week because of the fire. There were just no customers at all. There was no one on the roads, the schools were shut and no passing trade. We get a lot of customers from nearby factories, and they weren't coming in. It was terrible."
Meanwhile, the chairman of West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority Sandwell Councillor John Edwards has criticised Government cuts in the wake of the fire.
He said: "We were stretched to breaking point by the extraordinary demands placed on our shrinking resources. At one point, only one fire engine was free to cover the rest of the West Midlands – and we still have yet more Government cuts to implement over the next three years."
