A BUSINESS has thanked firefighters and staff for tackling a massive fire near Romsey.

A lightning strike is blamed for the fire at Ace Liftaway, a waste disposal firm at Yokesford Hill Estate, at Belbins near Timsbury.

Dozens of firefighters were called to tackle the blaze in 5,000 tonnes of waste waiting to be processed.

In a statement, Ace Liftaway said: "Ace Liftaway became one of the victims of the terrible storm overnight when one of their buildings was struck by lightning twice at 3.22am which caused the waste awaiting processing to ignite.

"Staff and firefighters arrived on the scene very quickly and the combined efforts brought the fire under control and stopped it from spreading.

"Due to the internal design of the building with four metre high concrete walls and the soil bund dividing the waste hall meant that the fire was contained to one area only.

"Ace Liftaway staff were deployed to remove the waste which assisted Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service in bringing the situation under control. Fire appliances were called from all over the county to tackle the blaze. Reports have grossly over-exaggerated the amount of waste at 35,000 tonnes which is more likely to be under 5,000 tonnes. No staff or attending firefighters were hurt.

"Ace Liftaway are hugely grateful for the incredible work that Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and the Rapid Response Team did towards the incident and supporting everyone on site. Their terrific efforts have enabled the business to be operational as normal on Monday 26th July."

Philip Liddell, managing director of Ace Liftaway, added: “We are hugely thankful to all the firefighters and extremely proud of our staff who came out to help.”

At the height of the incident there were eight crews on scene including firefighters from Romsey, Redbridge, Eastleigh, St Mary's, Andover, Beaulieu, Bishop's Waltham, Hightown, Hamble, Hardley, Fordingbridge, Portchester, Alton and Ringwood.

People nearby were told to avoid the area and keep their windows closed due to the smoke.

A spokesperson for St Mary's station said: "All St Mary's appliances along with many other HIOWFRS appliances are currently helping to extinguish 35,000 tonnes of household waste in Romsey. Excellent assistance from the ACE JCB drivers too", they said on social media.