300 tyres ablaze at Sandwell industrial yard

Firefighters were called to the yard on Whitehall Road in Great Bridge last night to the large blaze, which created a huge plume of acrid black smoke.

Around 15 firefighters from West Bromwich and Tipton fought the blaze for around two-and-a-half hours before leaving the scene. Residents living opposite the enclosed yard were warned to keep their doors and windows closed against the smoke as a precaution, although the wind carried smoke away from homes.

Tipton white watch crew commander Darren Kendall, who was the incident commander at the scene, said: "We had approximately 300 tyres on fire, and it was quite a difficult one as they consisted of lorry and forklift truck tyres. It was a substantial blaze – we could see it when we left the station, and a huge amount of smoke. We first thought it might have been the factory connected to the yard.

"We did an inspection of the factory premises but thankfully nothing had spread to the nearby units."

The blaze took hold at around 9pm. Mr Kendall said the fire was arson, and the police had been called to carry out their own investigations.

He added: "Thankfully the smoke was travelling in the opposite direction to the houses, so it could have been far worse.

"There was an incredible amount of heat and we were lucky nobody got hurt."

The fire was out and firefighters were leaving the scene just after 11pm.