I went to the scene of a major fire near my Wolverhampton home - and I couldn't believe the sheer scale of it

I've seen fire engines in and around my area of Wolverhampton before, with a house fire or shop fire which felt small and was usually contained, as well as a factory unit which experienced a fire, but was able to keep running on the same day.

When I was informed of the fire on Sunbeam Street on Wednesday morning and asked to go down and cover it for the paper, my first thoughts were of that fire and how there might be a bit of damage, but nothing too big to worry about.

That thought changed dramatically when I walked out of my front door and saw the huge smoke cloud rising into the sky in front of me. 

With thick, black smoke rising up and moving with great speed, I realised that this fire was not a quick fix, so hurried over to Upper Villiers Street, the road next to where the fire was taking place.

As I reached the top of the hill where Upper Villiers Street begins, the severity of the fire became more apparent through at least two police cars blocking the top of the road to oncoming traffic, then the view of more smoke further down in the business park.

People were coming out of their homes and businesses on Upper Villiers Street to see what was happening, while fire engines could be seen lining the street around the curve towards the business park.

As I walked down, I could begin to smell the smoke, with an acrid and sour smell emanating through the air, while the number of people standing and looking and taking photos of the fire increased as I was walking down to Moorfield Road where the main cordon was.

It was an area awash with people and equipment, including one man directing traffic back along Cross Street, due to the road down to Marston Road being closed off, and a larger number of fire engines and police cars on the scene.

A worker from a company near the fire, said he hoped the fire wouldn't cause any damage to the company's building.