Tipton scrap yard boss reacts to the fire at his business as roads remain closed

Smoke filled the skies and explosions were heard across the neighbourhood as a scrap yard in Tipton was set alight.

There was 1,00 tons of metal at the Enablelink Ltd premises on George Henry Road near residential streets, Harvills Primary School and several businesses which were forced to close.

Residents spoke about their shock at hearing explosions and smoke covering the area - as firefighters advised them to keep their windows and doors closed.

Three key roads were closed as West Midlands Firefighters dealt with the flames, using water from a nearby canal. Crews remain at the scene today after spending the night at the scene. Two roads remain closed - these are Great Western Way (A461) and George Henry Road - while one lane on Black Country Route (A41) has reopened with speed measures.

Speaking with the Express and Star Enablelink Ltd director  Mr Long said told of his own horror at the fire, saying: “I’ll be honest, I’m absolutely gutted about this. I was on my way in this morning (Wednesday, October 11) when I heard about it and we still don’t know what the cost will be, but I know it’s going to massively impact the company.

"I do know that everyone who works here is safe and accounted for as there was no one on site when it started, but I’ve got no idea what caused this, maybe a few suspicions, but nothing much.

"We’ve never had anything like this before and the fire services are doing the best they can, but we had lots of plans in place and had loads of fire cannons around the yard and were in the process of getting them commissioned."

Mr Long said the company had been operating on the site for more than two years and had been working to ensure fire cannons set up on the site were fully commissioned. We will update our story with any further updates from West Midlands Fire Service as the incident continues.