A MASSIVE blaze which destroyed of thousands of tyres is being treated as arson, firefighters have revealed.

Up to 4,000 tyres were being stored in the yard of 30 Dale Street, Accrington, when a firebug started the blaze which left the town covered in a cloud of thick, dark smoke on Monday night.

Police initially thought that the yard belonged to tyre dealership Tommy Blanks.

However while the business is next to the yard, bosses said the tyres were not part of Tommy Blanks company.

Landlord of the yard Gordon Kemp has said the tyres were left by a previous tenant two years ago and since then he had been working with the Environment Agency to dispose of them since the tenancy ended.

Mr Kemp said: "There has been some confusion.

"The tyres do not belong to Tommy Blanks - their business is at the end of Dale Street.

"The tyres have been left in the yard for two years by the previous tenants and I have been working with the Environment Agency to get rid of them."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "For the past two years we have been monitoring the removal and legal disposal of a significant number of tyres from the Dale Street site.

"We had made substantial progress, removing approximately 2,000-3,000 tyres within that time.

"We will now be reviewing the situation, following the fire, to see how many tyres remain to be dealt with."

Firefighters from across Lancashire spent more than six hours fighting the blaze on Monday night.

Crews from Hyndburn, Great Harwood, Preston, Fulwood, Blackburn, Burnley, Nelson, Chorley and Rawtenstall were at the scene until past 3am on Tuesday, ensuring the area was safe.

A van parked in the yard was also extensively damaged, and the fire spread to the adjacent electrician's business, Alan Dents.

Watch manager Phil Jones from Hyndburn fire station said: "A group of youths were seen in the area prior to the fire starting at 8pm, and police are looking into that."