Walsall-based family-run pork scratchings business working to rebuild after 'devastating' fire causes significant damage - here's everything we know so far

The fire at the G Simmons & Sons Pork Scratchings factory broke out on Sunday evening and saw 13 fire engines and two hydraulic aerial platforms attending the scene at the height of the incident

Crews from Bloxwich, Walsall, Aldridge, Willenhall, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Tipton, Bilston, Tettenhall, Dudley, Fallings Park, Highgate, Handsworth and Woodgate Valley stations attended, the first arriving at the scene within three minutes of being mobilised.

The crews worked through the night to tackle the blaze, which is believed to have involved two large drums of cooking oil, and by Monday morning (December 15), West Midlands Fire Service said good progress was being made as two remaining crews continued to target hotspots in one particular area of the building.

No casualties or injuries have been reported., but the fire will be seen as a bitter blow for one of the market leaders and best producers of pork scratchings, cracking and crunch, which boasts more than 40 years of experience in producing hundreds of bags of different products each day.

The manufacturer is one of the few which still produces by hand, in small batches, and has been doing so since moving into the purpose-built factory on Newfield Close in 1994, having begun life in the butcher shop of Graham Simmons in the 1970s where he produced scratchings.

Having been joined by his sons Shaun and Mark in 1980s, the three saw that pork scratchings were becoming very popular during the 1990s, while the shop itself was beginning to struggle, so made the decision to close the shop and open up the factory in 1994.

G Simmons and Son, as it was named, developed the familiar white packaging with a green leaf on the front and became the first manufacturer in Walsall to receive a food licence, which allowed it to export to the UK and into Europe.