BASILDON residents have been told to keep their doors and windows close as the fire service say they will be at the scene extinguishing the fire at the Burnt Mills recycling centre for "at least 48 hours."

Fire crews have been battling a huge blaze at a recycling centre at the Burnt Mills Industrial Estate in Basildon since crews were called at 1.15 am.

Smoke in the early could be seen billowing into the sky and across the A127.

Firefighters remain at the scene this morning as Essex Fire and County Rescue say they have scaled back their response to five crews. 

However, the fire service said they will be at the "scene for at least 48 hours."
 

Residents near the Burnt Mills Industrial Estate - next to the A127 and in northern Basildon - have been told to keep their doors and windows closed due to the smokes. 


A digger is being used to break up the recycling so crews can extinguish the fire.

This is also not the the first fire at Burnt Mills industrial state in recent months.

Separate fires were tackled at the estate in July and at Archers Fields in January which broke out was only fully extinguished more than a day later.