Large tyre fire shuts section of A5 at Sheriffhales

More than 2,500 tyres from a disused Shropshire farm went up in smoke in a blaze which closed a section of the A5.

At least 20 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Yew Tree Livery Stables and Horse Transport business in Crackley Bank, Sheriffhales, after it broke out at about 2pm yesterday.

Police officers were forced to close the road in both directions from Pickmere Island to the site of the fire.

Mark Weaver, station manager at Telford Fire Station, said firefighters spent nearly five hours at the scene dousing the flames and treating the area.

He said: "The lady was having a small bonfire next to the tyres and they caught fire, it was accidental.

"The tyres create a lot of smoke and it looked a bit more spectacular than it was."

Veronica Shilton, from the Yew Tree Livery Stables and Horse Transport, which specialises in moving horses and other pets, said: "We have had a fire but there is no real damage.

"The damage is to the environment because it was tyres.

"The tyres were left sitting there from a farm here 20 years ago and they were used for sitting on top of silage."

Mr Weaver added the fire posed another hazard from the water running off the burning tyres.

He said: "We used plenty of water on the fire, but we had to contain the water running off due to the environment because if it got into the watercourse it could poison anything in the water.

"But our environmental pod from Tweedale (Telford) attended and they can make a dam and soak up all of the pollutants and we successfully contained it all.

"We also used soil to soak it up."

Police spokesman Chris Ammonds said the road was closed to traffic for about two hours.

He said: "We had a call from fire control at 2.10pm and closed the road. It was reopened to traffic shortly after 4pm."

Mr Weaver said no investigation into the blaze will take place.

"This fire was accidental, so there will be no need to investigate it," he said.

Firefighters left the scene of the incident at about 6.45pm.