Southall fire: Moment massive plumes of smoke billow into the sky as 70 firefighters rush to blaze as locals evacuated

PLUMES of smoke billowed into the sky today as 70 firefighters rushed to tackle a blaze.

Around 30 people were evacuated from the residential street and smoke can be seen for miles.

Most of a single-storey commercial garage, an adjoining storage area and several cars are alight in Southall, West London. A container of oil is also alight.

Station Commander Graeme Hunter said: "The fire is producing heavy smoke, which is visible for miles. We are urging residents in the area to close their windows and doors.

"There is some disruption to traffic, so we encourage people to avoid the area whilst crews continue to work to make the scene safe."

Ten fire engines were sent to tackle the fire. Three cylinders were removed from the building before the Brigade arrived and firefighters are cooling them to an ambient temperature as some cylinders can explode when exposed to heat. 

A witness said: "It's concerning to this smoke out my window. I hope everyone is OK. I can only assume it's some kind of fire."

Another wrote online: "Seems to be a big fire by my gym. Someone said they heard three explosions."

The smoke could be seen as far as eight miles away in Kew Gardens. It could also be seen from Heathrow.

Heathrow Airport confirmed it is all off-site and is not affecting its flights.