Dramatic blaze rips through 100 tons of scrap metal

These are the dramatic pictures of a huge blaze that ripped through a scrapyard sending plumes of smoke into the sky.

The blaze which started just before 7pm yesterday spread quickly through the yard on Landor Street, Birmingham.

Click on the image on the right to see more dramatic blaze pictures

At its height around 50 firefighters from stations across the West Midlands battled the fire which spread through around 100 tons of scrap metal at the yard in Nechells.

Firefighters had to use water from a nearby canal to help them get the fire under control, and called in the water board to make sure the levels in the canal did not get too low.

A water tower along with hydraulic platforms were set up at the scrapyard to battle the blaze, while firefighters used hose reels from eight fire engines to tackle the inferno.

Thermal imaging equipment was also used to monitor the fire. West Midlands Fire Service spokesman Jim Sinnott said: "The fire was focused on one 35-foot high pile of scrap metal. Luckily the personnel at the scrap metal yard spotted the fire quickly, and called us straight away, so we were able to start work on the fire early on."

This morning JCBs were being used to separate out the metal to fully put out the blaze. The number of fire engines were reduced to three at 8am. Police temporarily closed Landor Street but it was due to reopen this morning.