FIREFIGHTERS FOUGHT for several hours yesterday to bring a major blaze at a Dundee scrapyard under control.

At one point, crews had to withdraw from the RM Supplies site in Fish Dock Road, off Stannergate, because of a number of explosions.

At the height of the blaze there were 30 firefighters at the scene and more than 8000 litres of water were being poured on the flames every minute.

The fire sent a thick pall of smoke over the city and engineering premises nearby had to be evacuated for safety reasons. Emergency services were called about 11.30 am and early reports suggested four cars were on fire. But the fire spread in strong winds.

Initial reports indicated the cause might have been a spark created during the piling of scrap cars, which in turn ignited residual petrol. Police said the incident was not being treated as suspicious.

Smoke was still seen rising from the site at 8 pm last night and firefighters were expected to stay at the scene until at least the early hours of today.