PILES of rubbish at a recycling centre went up in flames.

Firefighters were called to Rio Recycling in Stanford Road, Orsett, to tackle a blaze involving 100 tonnes of recycling materials.

Crews from Grays and Orsett spent almost five hours tackling the flames using two hose reels jets and a monitor.

The fire broke out at 7pm yesterday.

The flames were put out just before midnight, but firefighters remained on site for 45 minutes damping down.

They are set to return today to assess the damage, ensure the site is safe and establish a cause.

This fire comes just over two years after a blaze on the same site burned for five weeks.

Rio is one of the biggest recycling sites in South England and specialises in the production of soils made from civic amenity and development waste.