FIREFIGHTERS battled a fire at the Cheney Manor household waste site for more than five hours early today.

Crews from as far away as Bath, Cirencester and Faringdon were called to help Swindon, Westlea and Stratton firefighters tackle the blaze involving a conveyor belt at the recycling centre off Darby Close.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Fire Service said “In order to contain the fire and prevent it spreading to other parts of the building, we sent ten fire crews and firefighters in breathing apparatus tackled the blaze using two main jets and a hose reel jet.

“The on-site drenching system was also working, which helped to extinguish the fire. The stop came at 5.50am and we scaled back our attendance, with the last two crews leaving at approximately 8.45am.”

Crews from Cricklade, Malmesbury were also involved along with a water carrier from Ramsbury. Melksham and Pewsey firefighters arrived at 4.30am to continue damping down.