Fire crews battle large fire at Northampton rail depot as locals warned to stay indoors

Firefighters have dealt with a large fire at a Network Rail depot in Northampton, with police asking the public to stay indoors because of heavy black smoke.

Northamptonshire Police and the fire service were called to the fire in Cotton End, Far Cotton, Northampton at shortly before 18:40 on Tuesday evening.

Videos and pictures from Twitter showed flames and black smoke billowing in the sky.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue and the police issued several warnings on Twitter for people to stay indoors and shut their windows and doors.

Several roads were also closed in the area to allow emergency services access to the site.

The fire service said: "The fire at the Network Rail Depot started shortly before 6.40pm this evening, and at the peak of the blaze we had eight pumps and one aerial appliance in attendance.

"Residents are advised that power to the local area has been disconnected to enable Western Power to isolate the gas and electric supply to make the building safe. The power outage is expected to remain in place for several hours."

The fire was under control shortly after 21:30 but the fire service said crews would be staying overnight to "dampen down" any hot spots.

Emergency services thanked people in the local area for their patience.

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