Waterbeach: £42m Recycling Centre Fire

31 March 2013, 12:18 | Updated: 31 March 2013, 19:09

Fire crews were today called to a fire at Cambridgeshire's £42 million pound Waste Management Centre.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue told Heart crews from across the region are fighting what the emergency services have described as 800 tonnes of organic recycling material on fire inside the facility just off the A10 at Waterbeach.

At one point, smoke was blowing across the A10 - but the wind has since swung around to behind the building and across the fields. 

Reports to Heart suggest people smelt the smoke from the fire as far away as Landbeach, Impington, Milton and Histon.

Emergency services were called at 6.53am today (Sunday) to the recycling centre run by Amey Cespa.

Fire engines from Cambridge, Cottenham, Ely, Papworth, Sutton and the command unit from Huntingdon were called to the scene and several crews remained there into the afternoon.

According to operator Amey Cespa, there are no reports of injuries and Environment Agency officers have arrived to assess the environmental impact of the incident.

In a statement to Heart at around 12pm, Amey Cespa Managing Director Paul Greenwell said: "We've had an incident and there have been no injuries.

We can confirm there has been a fire at the Waterbeach MBT Facility.

The Fire Service is still in attendance, and at this stage we are unable to comment on the extent of the damage.

Once we are able to enter the building, we will begin a thorough investigation as to the cause.

The Environment Agency is on-site at present, and happy that everything is contained."

The below video, filmed by a Heart Reporter, shows smoke billowing from the building.

Update 6pm Sunday 31 March:

Six crews from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service remain at the scene of the fire.

A spokesperson for the Fire Service said firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are now being sent in to the building to assess and continue to tackle the fire.

The spokesperson added that crews will be at the scene 'throughout the evening'.