Crews tackle fire at recycling plant near Doncaster

Thick black smoke was reported to be visible for more than 20 miles See more fire pictures

About 30 firefighters are tackling a large fire at a waste recycling plant containing thousands of tyres.

The fire started at the Hazel Lane Quarry on Wakefield Road in Hampole at about 0500 BST, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

A spokeswoman said the fire was within a pile of 2,000 tyres.

No-one has been injured or evacuated from their homes, but people living nearby have been advised to keep their windows closed.

Doncaster fire station manager Shaun Pilley said they were making use of resources from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, including a high volume pump which was being used to extract water from a nearby ponds.

Smoke plume

Foam is being used to try to bring the fire under control.

"This is a very large incident and getting resources on site is going to be difficult and timely," Mr Pilley said.

The fire service is extracting water from nearby ponds

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's group manager Dick Hutton said: "This is a deep-seated fire and we are expecting to be here for days rather than hours.

"Because of the amount of smoke in the area we would advise nearby residents to keep their doors and windows closed as a safety precaution."

The plume of thick black smoke billowing from the quarry was reported to be visible for more than 20 miles.

South Yorkshire Police said drivers on the southbound A1 near the quarry should take extra care as traffic was slow moving because of people looking at the smoke.

Crews are tackling the fire with a high volume pump which can pump out about 8,000 litres of water per minute.