Miracle no-one hurt in blaze

The managing director of a West Bromwich recycling plant devastated by fire said it was a miracle no one had been hurt.

Staff were at work this morning but were on a break when the fire broke out at Giffords Recycling in Kelvin Industrial Estate in Kelvin Way, West Bromwich at 4.30am.

It is believed that it was sparked by an electrical fault.

Managing director Rod Gifford was counting the cost of the blaze this morning.

He said: "There were some night shift workers here but they were on their break at the time and called the fire brigade.

"The blaze has affected the animal bedding site of the business, the good thing is it is such a big site we are able to switch production to another part. "We are almost operating at normal."

He said he had no idea of the scale of the damage as he was not allowed anywhere near the tragic fire-hit building.

"The main thing is that no-one has been hurt and we are all going home to our families," he said.

"People's jobs are safe and everything is fine, it is just a bit of machinery that can be replaced.

"This is a 50,000 sq ft building and it has been contained in about an 8,000sq ft area."

Fire crews were expected to be at the site most of the day following the shock blaze.