Fire breaks out at hazardous waste management site in Blackburn

Four fire engines rushed to Neales Waste Management in Stanley Street after a storage building containing waste caught fire at 6.50pm

Neales, whose head office is based in Bamber Bridge, specialises in hazardous waste collection, including waste from hospitals and power stations.

Blackburn with Darwen Council urged residents to keep their windows and doors shut due to thick clouds of black smoke in the area.

No injuries have been reported and the cause is under investigation, say Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.

A fire service spokesman said: "Four fire engines from Blackburn and Hyndburn, along with an aerial ladder platform from Preston, attended the fire in a single storey storage building containing a quantity of waste, on Stanley Street in Blackburn.

"Firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus used four jets to bring the fire under control. One fire engine remains at the incident damping down."

The fire was brought under control at around 10.30pm, with one fire engine remaining until midnight to continue damping down the building.