Scrapyard fire clean-up under way

The fire destroyed a crane and dozens of vehicles

A clean-up operation is under way at the site of a fire at a metal scrapyard in Nottingham.

Crews tackled the blaze at the Simsmetal UK scrapyard in the Dunkirk area on Thursday.

Smoke from the fire was seen as far away as Derbyshire and Leicestershire and people were being advised to close their windows.

Simsmetal spokesman Miles Pilkington said it is not possible yet to estimate the damage caused by the fire.

The fire is not being treated as suspicious, but an investigation is continuing to determine the cause.

Mr Pilkington said: "We are looking at trying to clean up the mess and get back up and running on the site."

He said the fire destroyed a crane and vehicles being prepared for the shredder on the site, but added the majority of the site was "relatively untouched".

The site deals with 40 to 70 cars a day, removing oil, batteries and other components and using the rest for scrap metal.