Biggest fire 'for years' in Dagenham, London

More than 200 firefighters have tackled a blaze described by London Fire Brigade as the biggest seen in the capital for several years.

The brigade was called at about 13:15 BST when flames took hold at a recycling centre in Dagenham, east London.

Smoke was visible for miles as the single-storey building burned, but there were no injuries.

The brigade said fire cover at Olympic venues had not been affected.

There were initial reports that people could see the smoke from the Olympic Park, approximately six miles away.

It's certainly a dramatic end to the Olympics for the London Fire Brigade”

The closing ceremony was due to start at 21:00 BST.

But the BBC Weather Centre said the wind was likely to take the smoke northwards during the evening, away from the stadium.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: "We've not seen a fire of this size in London for several years - it's certainly a dramatic end to the Olympics for the London Fire Brigade.

"That said though, we are still able to attend incidents across the capital and the fire cover we're providing at the Olympic venues has not been affected.

"At this stage we aren't sure how the blaze started as our focus is getting the flames under control.

"Fire crews will remain at the scene for as long as necessary and a thorough investigation will begin once the fire is out in order to establish how it started."

At its height the whole of the 100m (330ft) by 50m building was ablaze and some 40 fire engines were at the scene.

The fire was under control by 17:00 BST, but firefighters will continue damping the building down overnight.

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