Huge recycling centre blaze 'caused by battery'

A large blaze at a recycling plant in Worcestershire was caused by a battery, a fire service has said.

At its height, 50 firefighters tackled the fire at Total Metal Recovery Ltd in Stoke Prior, near Bromsgrove.

The service said it started at about 03:40 BST on Monday, with about six crews expected to remain on scene for the rest of the day.

Group commander Simon Cusack said the fire had been "largely extinguished", adding: "Now what we're doing is moving the rubbish pile and extinguishing it."

No injuries were reported, he added, and the Environment Agency was called to the scene due to the nature of the fire.

The B4091 that runs past the site was closed.

Nearby residents have been advised to keep windows shut throughout the day.

"We're coming out of the back of an incredibly busy summer where crews have been working quite extensively to extinguish quite a significant number of wildfires," Cusack told the BBC.

"Metal recycling fires are quite a significant drain on our resources. I would expect about five or six fire engines to remain here for the duration of the day.

"It's going to take us into the evening to extinguish the fire and release our resources from the scene."

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