Homes evacuated as more than 100 firefighters tackle fire in Wolverhampton

A huge fire tore through several derelict factories in Wolverhampton overnight, forcing homes to be evacuated, roads to close and causing rail chaos for commuters this morning.

More than 100 firefighters went to fight the blaze, which was reported at around 9pm last night on a site off Lower Horseley Fields near the train station.

West Midlands Fire Service declared it a major incident.

Crews were still tackling the fire at 6.30am this morning, with West Midlands Fire Service saying they were working closely with police, ambulance and other local authorities on relief plans.

Road including Lower Walsall Street, Lower Horseley Fields and Colliery Road were closed and rail disruptions caused problems for commuters in rush hour.

Birmingham New Street station tweeted an apology for affected passengers, saying: "We're sorry to passengers disrupted this morning travelling on services through Wolverhampton due to a fire next to the railway.

"We're working closely with West Midlands Fire to understand when the railway can be safely reopened."

Nearby residents had to be evacuated to two leisure centres because of smoke and other people were warned to keep their windows closed.

One witness, Nathan Fletcher, from Cannock in Staffordshire, said: "Speaking to other residents, there was a concern of possible spread to the very near BOC Gas, an industrial gases supplier.

"Within the first hour of the incident, floods of emergency response vehicles were arriving on scene, and a large presence of West Midlands Ambulance Service.

"The blaze was still not under control at this point, and you could hear the collapsing of material.

"There were many loud bangs, followed by plumes of smoke."

At its height, the fire covered 200 square metres and 28 fire engines were on the scene with firefighters using a thermal imaging drone to identify hotspots.

Water had to be pumped from a nearby canal in the early hours of this morning, the West Midlands Fire Service said.