A witness reported hearing 'explosions' as a huge fire broke out on an industrial estate close to Nottingham city centre.
Firefighters from seven stations were called to the blaze at Harrimans Lane, in the Dunkirk area, with police also being called shortly after 5pm on Thursday, May 6.
Among the people at the scene was Michael Riley, 36, of Nazareth Road, Dunkirk, a HGV driver, who said: “I know that they are taking water from two canals.
"I live a few miles away and I could see it from my house. I heard a couple of explosions, other than that I don’t really know. It was about half an hour ago.
"I spoke to someone down there, a business owner, and he said that something like this happens every six months or so."
A 34-year-old man, a joiner of Lady Bay, added: “I left the gym from the National Water Sports Centre, saw plumes of smoke.
"It looked like it was coming near the cricket ground. As I got closer it was just getting bigger. I wanted to investigate more. I watched the one at the Cattle Market a couple of years ago. I wanted to see what scale this was going to be. I am just nosey to be honest.
“Look at the flames, it has got to be 20-30 ft or higher. It’s definitely caught me off guard.”
Images sent to Nottinghamshire Live show police and paramedics were also called to the scene.
A spokesperson for the fire service said: "We are currently in attendance at a large industrial fire on Harrimans Lane in the Dunkirk area.
"We currently have crews from London Road, Highfields, West Bridgford, Stockhill, Long Eaton and Loughborough Fire Station tackling the blaze."
They added: "We are aware that smoke can been seen from a distance. If you can smell the smoke please keep your windows and doors shut."
We will bring you all the latest on the fire through our live blog.
