Firefighters have worked through the night at an abandoned shipyard fire in Hebburn.
Smoke poured out over homes in Ellison Street on Wednesday as firefighters from Hebburn , South Shields, Wallsend and Gateshead were called to the former industrial building just after 5pm.
Around 18 firefighters worked to get the smoke under control, while police officers warned passers-by away from the area, saying it was believed there could have been asbestos in the building.
In an update at 6.45am on Thursday, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said the response had been scaled down but one pump was still being used to tackle the fire.
After asking neighbours to keep doors and windows closed and to stay inside on Wednesday, the fire service say there is no longer any risk from the initial smoke plume.
It is believed asbestos could have been blown about by the wind as the fire took hold.
No one was thought to be injured at the derelict building.
Some called for the shipyard to be demolished after a number of fires in the past.
Mum-of-two Yvonne Garrett lives close to the Hawthorn Leslie building, and was prevented from getting back into her home by police officers after the fire started.
Family members still inside were told to keep doors and windows shut, and not to leave until the fire was brought under control.
The worried mum, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said problems at the building have been common ever since she moved in.
"There’s always kids playing down there, you see them up on the roof, it’s just dangerous," she said.
"There are fires there all the time. Why they don’t just knock it down I don’t know. It’s an eyesore and a death trap."
Yvonne said she hoped the latest blaze would be enough to ensure the building would be demolished for good - but that she was concerned this might not happen.
The Hawthorn Leslie yard closed in 1982, and was sold to Cammell Laird before being acquired by A&P Group in 2001 - but it has lain derelict for many years.
In 2015, following a suspected arson attack, South Tyneside council confirmed the building's listed status had been removed, paving the way for the privately-owned building to be demolished, but no planning application for the site had been received, and no work on it has yet begun.
Another man who lived nearby said he had seen fires of a similar size "three or four times" at the site, and it had still been left as it was.
One young man, attempting to visit a friend in the area, shared his concerns after being turned away by police.
He said: "They shouldn’t leave a building like that there. I used to play there when I was a kid, we didn’t know about the asbestos, we didn’t know it was dangerous.
"You can’t have something like that so close to a housing estate - my mates live round here and it’s not safe. Hopefully after this they will knock it down."
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police confirmed an investigation into the fire had been launched, and urged anyone with information about it to contact police on 101 quoting log 762 12/06/19.
