Fire crews have been called to a large blaze at an industrial unit in Weeting near Brandon.

As many as 75 firefighters are currently tackling the blaze in Fengate Drove after being called just before 2pm today (July 13).

Large plumes of smoke can be seen above the town.

Firefighters say they have achieved their main aim of preventing the fire from spreading to the Harvest Centre church next door to the building which is on fire.

The fire did however spread to number of other buildings from the one where the fire started which contained building materials.

Incident commander, Paul Seaman said: "We've had a significant fire in a range of buildings where we have a number of assets on site.

"From Norfolk and Suffolk we have 75 personnel on site, including specialist appliances like an aerial ladder platform and some of those will remain at the scene for a number of hours.

"When the first crews turned up there was a significantly developing fire involving about 50pc of the site.

"I'm really pleased to say we've been able to salvage the Harvest Centre, which was our main priority at the time and we've minimised the risk to the public."

They also said there was now no wider risk to the public adding they expect to scale down efforts in the next few hours, however crews will remain on the scene overnight.

No one was injured in the blaze.

A spokesman for Norfolk Constabulary said: "We are assisting fire on the scene and we have closed the top end of the road."

A man who works at the industrial estate, but did not want to be named, said the "smoke is jet black".

He said: "There are so many people standing around watching, everyone in the area has got out of their cars.

"The flames are 15ft high."

The smoke, which continue to bellow from the site, could be seen from Wereham and Stoke Ferry.

Fire engines are continuing to arrive at the blaze and police officers at the scene are ushering drivers who are using the main road off of it.

Residents are also being told to stay indoors.

Appliances from Thetford, Beccles, Haverhill, Bury St Edmunds, Elmswell, Ixworth, Brandon and Newmarket are currently at the scene.

A resident, who asked not to be named, said: “The factory is completely wiped out, next to the Harvest Centre.

"I was told earlier on by the police to stay indoors and we weren’t sure if there were chemicals coming from it.

"Debris has been falling in all our gardens.

“I saw it from my bedroom window, initially I heard some bangs and thought it was the steam rally but thought it’s going on too long.

"Then I looked about two hours ago and saw the flames and black smoke.

“There were so many fire engines I’ve lost count. We have a fire hydrant just outside the church and had seen them hook up to that.

"The water pressure in the house is low now.

“I have never seen anything like that before."

Another person, who wished to remain anonymous, whose daughter lives on the road, said: “It sounded like gun shots initially and that’s when we saw the smoke.”

UK Power Networks are also on the scene.

In a post on Facebook Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said: "We currently have a significant number of resources attending to a fire in an industrial unit, in Weeting.

"We recommend all local residents to keep windows closed until further notice."