FIREFIGHTERS from Malvern fought one of the biggest blazes of their careers when they were called to lend a hand to neighbouring forces.

They were among hundreds of emergency personnel called to tackle a massive blaze at a recycling centre in Smethwick.

Three crews from Malvern, Droitwich and Bewdley were part of a team of around 200 firefighters that tackled the fire which was caused by a Chinese Lantern.

The fire at the Jayplas recycling centre saw 100,000 tonnes of plastic and paper go up in flames on Sunday evening.

The Malvern crew, headed by watch commander Saul Bolton, was called out to the site at about 8.30am on Monday morning.

“We could see the plume of smoke when we were on the M5 passing Bromsgrove,” said Mr Bolton. “There were about 20 fire engines still there when we arrived, and we got to work damping down with three jets.

“There were not a lot of flames, but a substantial amount of smoke, and there was a large area still smouldering. It’s certainly one of the biggest fires in the West Midlands, although there wasn’t the biggest presence while we were there.”

Guy Palmer, station commander for Malvern and Evesham, took over from the station commander on duty at the site on Monday.

He said. “We were predominantly working at the front, supplying three fire jets and we also had two appliances at the rear supplying jets and a hydraulic platform.”

The blaze saw about 100,000 tons of recycled plastic and paper burned and at its height the fire sent a plume of smoke 6,000ft into the sky.

Commander Palmer added: “It was a large incident and inevitably logistics are key.

Whilst it may look dramatic as you initially arrive you have to think this is going to affect a lot of businesses over the next few days.

“From the number of pumps there it was one of the biggest incidents I have attended.”

He backed a call by the West Midlands Fire Service for an urgent review of the use of Chinese lanterns.

Crews from Malvern are frequently called out to major events because the command support unit is based there.

Among recent major incidents attended by Malvern crews was the fire at the Lawrence recycling centre, Kidderminster, last month.