Crews tackling the blaze. Picture by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

Thirty firefighters were today battling a massive blaze at a Shropshire industrial estate which sent plumes of thick black smoke so high into the sky they could be seen more than 20 miles away.

Residents were advised to close doors and windows to prevent the acrid smoke entering their homes after 200 tonnes of rubber went up in flames at Wem Industrial Estate.

Clouds of thick smoke billowed more than 50m into the air from the fire at Kingpin Remoulds Limited and could reportedly be seen from as far away as Telford and Whitchurch.

The alarm was raised at 4.45am today by a train driver who spotted the fire as he drove through the town. Firefighters were expected to remain at the Soulton Road site until the weekend.

Martin Timmis, head of operational response at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the smoke was not toxic but said if people breathed it in for more than a minute they could feel unwell.

He said: “At 4.45am today we got the first call from a train driver making the first pass on the rail track telling us there was a fire at the back of the industrial estate.

“We are trying to contain the fire. The nature of the material is very finely chopped rubber or even dust. The only thing we can do is to pour copious quantities of water onto it but it does not go out very well.”

Mr Timmis estimated the pile of rubber included 200 tonnes of waste material and said it measured about 20m tall, 60m long and about 30m wide. “We have not started a formal investigation into the cause but we will be bringing a fire investigation officer to make inquiries,” he said.

Mr Timmis said environmental health officers had been to the site and said the smoke was not toxic.

But he said: “The problem is that the smoke is a little bit unpleasant. People should close their windows and doors if the smoke is near their homes. We were here on April 20 to deal with a smaller fire which took most of the week to tackle.”

Crews from Wem, Prees, Whitchurch and Hodnet were called to the scene today along with a pumping unit from Prees and the aerial ladder platform from Shrewsbury.