Major fire put out at recycling centre for second time in two months

Firefighters are extinguished a large blaze at a recycling centre in Fife which was the scene of another fire in May.

Nearby residents reported seeing smoke billowing over a landfill area of the Lower Melville Woods Waste Facility near Ladybank just after 13:00 on Wednesday.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said 34 firefighters in six appliances and one high-reach vehicle were sent to the scene, but left aft about 20:20 after it was put out.

Fife Council said the centre had reopened on Thursday morning.

The fire broke out among 150 to 200 tonnes of shredded bulk waste, though it was contained in a concrete pen.

Local residents had been warned to keep windows and doors closed due to smoke in the area.

The latest blaze follows a previous fire at the site which broke out on 12 May and, at its height, spread over approximately 200m x 300m (656ft x 984ft) of landfill waste.

The fire service eventually handed the site back to Fife Council on 27 May, more than two weeks after the blaze started.

During the previous incident, the SFRS asked locals to keep their windows and doors closed as they battled to get the fire under control.

Air monitoring data showed spikes in pollution on several occasions in the days following May's outbreak.