A huge fire broke out after an 'explosion' was heard late last night.

Ten fire crews from across Essex, Hertfordshire and London tackled the blaze in an industrial unit for eight hours.

Crews rushed to the scene in Brooker Road in Waltham Abbey after a large explosion was reported at around 10pm (May 17).

Pictures show the flames engulfing the unit and the exterior is ruined.

70% of the building was on fire

Videos show firefighters on cranes above the flames, positioning hoses from above, while fire alarms can be heard in the background.

Smoke could also be seem billowing across the sky in the early hours of this morning, while fire crews were still tackling the fire.

A spokesperson for Essex County Fire and Rescue said: "Firefighters were called to a fire in an industrial unit in Waltham Abbey.

"The unit measured approximately 80m x 20m. When crews arrived at the scene they reported that 70 per cent of the building was on fire. Fire crews removed a number of cylinders from inside the unit and made them safe by cooling them using water. The unit also contained a number of vehicles.

"As well as a number of fire engines, crews also requested a number of specialist vehicles to help tackle the fire including a water bowser and an aerial ladder platform (ALP)."

Smoke was billowing across the sky at around 1am

Station Manager Stuart Hare said:"Firefighters worked extremely hard throughout the night to extinguish this large and challenging fire. The unit where the fire started was joined to a number of other units, and a number of them have been affected by the smoke from the fire.

"The unit structure quickly became unsafe due to the damage, so we have been using the aerial ladder platform (ALP) to help extinguish the fire by pouring water on it from above."

Multiple fire engines attended

At 6am this morning, eight hours after the call was made to emergency services,  four fire engines remained at the scene dampening down hot spots.

An investigation will be carried out to find the cause of the fire, at this moment in time it is not clear whether it was deliberate or accidental.

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