Residents evacuated after severe fire at Walsall recycling plant
MORE than 100 people were evacuated when a huge fire at a recycling plant sent smoke clouds containing lethal asbestos over their homes today.
Police officers wearing face-masks hurried worried residents in their nightclothes into vans to get them away from the thick black smoke which enveloped part of Moxley, near Walsall.
Nearly 100 firefighters were today still tackling the blaze at AWM Recycling, in West Way, Moxley.
Ambulance crews were also on standby in the area ready to offer assistance to anyone feeling unwell as a result of the fire.
Several local roads were shut and the Black Country Spine Road was closed between Moxley Road and Patent Drive, as firefighters continued to fight flames.
Residents who remain in their homes were urged to keep all doors and windows shut.
The blaze, which broke out shortly before 4am, may have been started deliberately.
Many of the evacuated residents, who live on an estate near to the company, went to stay with relatives while others were taken to Darlaston Police Station before being moved to Rough Hay Community Centre.
Fifteen fire crews were still at the scene today, along with two ambulances, the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), an incident support officer and a senior paramedic officer.
