Fridge storage firm criticised

Firefighters were at the scene throughout Monday night

A company responsible for a used fridge mountain where a large fire took place on Monday evening has been criticised by firefighters for failing to take appropriate safety measures.

At its height the fire - on an industrial estate in Trafford Park, Greater Manchester - was tackled by up to 100 firefighters.

Crews were called to the storage yard run by Britannia Import Export off Twining Road just after 1800 BST on Monday.

At about 0730 BST on Tuesday road closures were lifted but the fire was still burning in parts of the site during the afternoon.

The fire produced a large amount of smoke and local residents were told to stay inside their homes and keep windows and doors shut.

Ian Bailey, of Greater Manchester Fire Service, said: "It's particularly frustrating - at one point last night we had nearly a quarter of the on duty fire officers in Greater Manchester attending this incident.

"I believe if the recommendations we made at some point last year were taken on board then this incident could have been dealt with by two or three fire engines in probably an hour or two hours."

He added: "Such was the scale of this fire that, despite the fact we had upwards of 100 firefighters right through the course of the night pouring large amounts of water on to the scene, [there were] still over 40 firefighters at the scene [on Tuesday]."