Worle: Blaze at Somerset industrial site caused £60k of damage

A large blaze at an industrial site in Somerset was sparked by a firework, the business's owners believe.

Avon and Fire and Rescue Service were called to the Old Quarry on Kewstoke Road, Worle, at 20:32 GMT on Saturday.

The site has been occupied for the past few months by Storm Energia, a company that reclaims material from lithium ion batteries.

None of the batteries stored on site were affected by the blaze, Storm Energia's chairman said.

Speaking to BBC West, Rupert McNeil said a firework had been found and a section of the 7ft high perimeter fence had been damaged.

"It looks like it was a firework that went into the bags of aluminium and copper," he said.

Mr McNeil said the fire was "very disappointing" but said the fact it was contained to just the bags of waste metal showed its fire safety process were working.

"We work very closely with the Environment Agency and Avon Fire and Rescue to make sure the site is safe," he said.

"The battery material is stored very securely and regularly checked."

The fire caused about £60,000 of damage, Mr McNeil said.

Four fire engines worked through the night to bring the blaze under control.

Avon Fire and Rescue worked with site staff to move the bags that were unaffected away from the fire.

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