FIRE crews will remain at the scene of a major fire at Sharpness Docks overnight.

Dozens of firefighters were called to the blaze, which is not being treated as suspicious, at New Earth Solutions compost centre at 6am this morning.

New Earth Solutions managing director Peter Mills told the Gazette that they would be assessing the cause of the fire once emergency services have secured the building.

He said: “I’ve been out of the country today but my team has been keeping me fully briefed on what has happened.

“Everything is in the hands of the emergency services at the moment but once they finished and ensured the building is safe to enter we will carry out our own investigation.

“At this stage we have no idea what may have caused the fire but we will work with the fire and rescue service to establish what happened.

“We have a number of local contacts in the community and we will be keeping them up-to-date with what is happening over the weekend.”

No one had been working at the centre at the time the fire was reported.

Part of the docks has been closed by police to allow emergency crews to work at the scene to bring the fire under control.

Gazette Series:

More than 50 firefighters from Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Avon Fire and Rescue have been at the scene along with 11 appliances and an aerial platform.

People living nearby have been asked to keep their windows and doors closed despite the fire service saying that there are “no concerns about the safety of local residents”.

Sharpness Primary School has confirmed that everyone at the school is fine but that children will be kept in all day.

Stewart Edgar, chief fire officer at Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Fire crews have been on scene since early this morning, working to tackle a large fire in a garden and waste recycling facility.

“The fire is self-contained and we have no concerns about the safety of local residents or businesses.

“This is a large scale, ongoing incident and an investigation into the cause will take place once the fire has been dealt with.”

A fire service spokesman later added that the operation has now "been scaled back" with two pumps remaining "on site to keep a watching brief and will do so overnight."

Gazette Series:

A South Western Ambulance Service spokesman confirmed that no injuries had been treated by paramedics.

"We were called just after 6.30am to a fire in Burma Road, Sharpness.

"No injuries were treated but a crew did remain on the scene to support our fire service colleagues.

"At the time we sent one ambulance and four of our Hazardous Areas Response Teams."

Gazette Series:

Fire crews are also being supported by an ambulance service hazardous areas response team and police officers who have closed part of the road through the docks.

Staff from the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water, Western Power Distribution and British Gas also attended the incident.

David Preston from the Environment Agency said:  “Today,  we were advised of a fire at the New Earth Solutions site in Sharpness, Gloucestershire.

"The fire service is leading on the response but our officers have been working closely with them and the operator to provide advice and guidance, in order to minimise the impact of the fire on the environment.

“We are now working with the operator to ensure the site will be monitored over the coming days and the recovery plan implemented.

“If members of the public have any concerns about the environment they can be reported to our 24-hour incident hotline 0800 80 70 60.”