Building waste destroyed in Bransford fire (From Worcester News)

Building waste destroyed in Bransford fire

3:59pm Friday 22nd February 2013 in News By Freya Leng

UP TO 50 tonnes of building waste was destroyed in a fire at a builders’ recycling yard near Worcester.

Two fire crews from Worcester and a water carrier from Evesham were called just after 7pm yesterday to building material recycling company Go Greener, in Bransford Road, Bransford.

Firefighters found a huge pile of construction materials well alight with flames reaching as high as 20ft at their peak.

Crews managed to contain the fire using foam in the early hours of Friday morning but stayed on the scene until noon damping down the area.

Maureen Costello, who is joint-director of the company along with her husband Roy and son Rob, said a neighbour called the fire brigade after seeing the flames.

“When we left work at 5pm it was fine,” she said. “We had a phone call from one of the people down the road saying they could see flames at about 6.45pm.

“We came down and rang the fire brigade. There was nobody and no buildings close by. It was very contained. All the machinery had been moved out. There was nowhere to go if it had spread.

“It could have been a lot worse.”

Mrs Costello said she did not think it had been started deliberately as the fire was captured on CCTV footage and there was nothing to suggest anyone had got in.

“It must have been something that came in a skip,” she said. “It was very windy last night. We don’t suspect foul play.”

Her husband said the burnt rubbish would now have to be sent to landfill.

“We have to get rid of it,” he said. “Before we would have sorted some of the recycling out. We’ve been going for 20 years and never had anything like this.”

A spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the fire was being investigated.