NEARLY one hundred firefighters battled a huge blaze which cast smoke across a massive area.

Crews from across West Yorkshire battled the fire at the former Monoplast plastic factory on Badger Lane in Hipperholme today (Wednesday).

Area manager Brian Robson, who was in command at the scene, praised the efforts of firefighters from Brighouse and Halifax who were first on the scene.

He said: "They were confronted by a fire in the open at the back but managed to contain it before it spread to the buildings. They saved the day for the company."

Brighouse firefighters received the call at 10:45am and were on the scene within minutes.

But Mr Robson explained that they had to summon back-up.

He said: "It was a difficult situation given the weather and the isolation of the site. Crucially the water available was only sufficient to hold the fire."

Crews from across West Yorkshire were summoned to the scene to help pump water half a mile along Badger Lane.

At the height of the incident there were 19 engines from 13 stations - including Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Elland - at the scene. Almost 100 firefighters were involved.

Brighouse watch manager Mick Holbrook was one of the first on the scene.

He said: "There was a large pile of plastic on fire in the yard. We managed to protect the buildings and remove LPG cylinders safely, but we didn’t have enough water to extinguish the flames.

"Environmentally it was a bad incident but thankfully there was no risk to life."

The fire was brought under control after two hours and crews remain on the scene this afternoon (wednesday) damping down the flames.

A West Yorkshire Fire Service spokesman said the cause of the fire would be investigated tomorrow (Thursday).