WILTSHIRE Fire & Rescue Service is expecting to be at the scene of a significant fire in Swindon for much of today.

Crews were called to Swindon Skips in Brindley Close, on the Cheney Manor Industrial Estate, at 8.48pm last night, where they found some 750 tonnes of building and timber recycling material well alight.

Six fire engines initially attended, from Westlea, Swindon, Stratton (two), Cricklade and Marlborough, supported by the aerial appliance from Swindon, water carriers from Royal Wootton Bassett and Pewsey, and an incident command vehicle from Stratton.

Overnight, the attendance was reduced to two fire engines, but first light brought a renewed effort to tackle the blaze. As of 8.30am on 28 November, there were six fire engines on scene, from Westlea, Swindon, Stratton, Corsham, Cricklade and Bradford on Avon, together with the Bassett water carrier, the aerial appliance and the incident command vehicle.

Smoke from the fire can be seen from some considerable distance away - air quality is being monitored by Public Health England and people living locally are advised to keep windows and doors shut as a precaution if they are concerned.

The site is adjacent to the main railway line – trains were stopped for a time overnight but are now travelling through under caution.

The Fire & Rescue Service is working with partners from the Wiltshire and Swindon Local Resilience Forum to manage the incident. A fire investigation will be carried out in due course; as yet, it is not known how the blaze started.