CLOUDS of black smoke hung over a North-East town centre last night as 400 tons of scrap caught fire.

Firefighters were called to Ward Brothers Steel Limited, in Darlington, at about 4pm, where they found flames up to 40ft.

Gas tanks and cylinders exploded in the fire, off Albert Road, in the Albert Hill area of town. No one was injured.

Fire officers were expecting to work late into the night to make the area safe.

The owners of the site used cranes and other equipment to move hundreds of tons of scrap to help fire officers dampen the area down.

Fire crews from Darlington, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland, in County Dur-ham, attended the scene.

Crew manager Jack Elliott said dozens of members of the public had called the brigade to raise the alarm.

He said: "This is going to be a long job to make the area safe.

"There was no question that anyone was in danger, but this was a very serious fire."

Mr Elliott said the cause of the fire was not known, and said investigators would attend the scene to find out more.

He said arson has not been ruled out.