CLOUDS of thick black smoke could be seen for miles as more than 20 firefighters tackled a blaze at a Bury scrap company.

Children playing at the breakers' yard in Pimhole were being blamed for the outbreak of the fire on Wednesday afternoon which destroyed several stacks of tyres and wrecked cars.

The intense heat caused several small explosions with firefighters forced to retreat to a safe distance. Special fixed jets were used to pour hundreds of gallons of water on the flames. Two gas bottles also ruptured adding to the risk to firefighters.

The alarm was raised at 1.15pm by workers at a nearby breakers' yard.

Children had been seen playing in the area moments before the fire started. Searches were later made to ensure no-one was trapped by the flames. A team of paramedics from the ambulance service was put on stand-by at the scene but was later released without being used.

Assistant Fire Divisional Commander Dion Webber said: "The main problem was getting water on the fire. It was at the lower end of Pimhole scrapyards and water sources were few in number.

"It was a very intense fire but we soon managed to bring it under control."