Recycling plant to burn for days

Tens of thousands of tons of cardboard is expected to keep burning for days after a fire at a recycling plant.

More than 70 firefighters are tackling the blaze over a seven-acre area at the Smurfit Kappa paper mill in the Nechells area of Birmingham.

West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service said the fire had started just after 10pm on Wednesday night. There are 20 fire crews on the site and at one point overnight 100 firefighters were on the scene near the M6 motorway.

One resident living near the industrial estate where the plant is, saw "a bright light" but thought it was "a lightning bolt" caused by the blustery weather and went back to bed.

There have been no reports of injuries according to emergency services and a police cordon remains in place around the busy industrial and residential area.

Station commander Mal Fellows, of WMFRS, said the fire was under control but the difficulty was in getting water to the flames deep within the cardboard bales.

"It's still blazing but it is slowing down," he said. "We'll be here for some time. The issue we have is the getting to the fire deep underneath and that will take time. The good thing is the site is intact, we've protected the buildings and the company had a good fire plan operating which has helped us."

He said residents to the north and west of the blaze were being advised to keep their windows closed to keep out the ash but said there were no toxic fumes and no health risk to people living nearby.

The site in Mount Street is a recycled packaging mill, according to the company website.

According to its website, Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading producers of paper-based packaging in the world, with more than 41,000 employees in 32 countries. It has its headquarters in Dublin.