A huge plume of smoke rising from a fire at Kingpin Tyres, Wem industrial estate.

Staff at a Shropshire company where there was a massive rubber fire are being “made ill” by acrid smoke still wafting around the site, it was claimed today.

A Kingpin Tyres employee, who did not wish to be named, today claimed staff had to ask bosses for face masks and some had been hit by headaches and coughs since the blaze broke out on Wem Industrial Estate on Tuesday morning.

But a Kingpin spokesman today refuted the claims, saying the company was taking its duty of care towards employees seriously.

The fire at the site, which employs 70 people, was still burning today, and may take weeks to burn itself out.

The employee claimed: “The staff are still working there and we are now wearing face masks.

“There are more than 20 of us in there and it’s getting into our eyes and down the back of our throats. It’s disgusting. The smoke is making people ill and it’s coming through the holes in the walls.”

But the spokesman for Kingpin said: “Every employee has access to face masks which are readily available and more have been brought in. No-one has complained of illness due to the smoke, nor is anyone off due to illness caused by smoke inhalation.”

Superintendent Peter Lightwood, of West Mercia Police, said: “The fire could take weeks to extinguish rather than days.

“The general advice from health agencies is for people to stay out of the smoke as far as possible and keep windows and doors shut, particularly if they are in the vicinity of the fire.”

He added people with concerns about their health should contact their GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.