HUGE clouds of smoke could be seen over Colne after tyres and other commercial waste were set alight.

Fire crews were called to farm land near Knotts Lane at 10am yesterday (THURS) after the flames got out of hand.

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Initial concerns that the flames may spread to outbuildings were allayed as the fire crews, from Nelson and Colne, quickly got the blaze under control.

Police were called to the scene as back-up but have taken no further action, but an investigation by Pendle Council's environmental health team is believed to be under way.

Fire service spokesman John Taylor said the reason there was such a large presence of fire service personnel was because water needed to be sourced from further away.

He said: "A stack of tyres and other waste had been set on fire in the open.

"It was ready to touch half an outbuilding but the fire was put out relatively quickly.

"The difficulty in this is getting water to the source of the fire so they set up what is known as a water relay where they find a pond or something and pump the water from one engine to the next.

"This means you get more engines going and it seems like a bigger job than it is as it takes a lot of engines to get the water to it."

Mr Taylor said when burning waste people needed to take every precaution they could to ensure the flames do not spread.

He said: "Thankfully there was no one at risk and no casualties.

"Fire has always got a potential to be dangerous and when you set light to something on your own doorstep evidently this chap soon knew about it.

"It is potentially hazardous whenever you light a fire and people should take precautions and in this case this clearly hasn't happened and he has had to call the fire brigade.

"It is regrettable something that was avoidable has resulted in this but we are pleased we were able to put it out quickly and with minimal damage."