Cannock fire today live: Smoke engulfs homes and people evacuated as blaze tears through parcel warehouse

Cannock Orbital shopping centre has been forced to close this morning as a result of the large blaze.

Located near the A460 Orbital Island, the centre has a number of shops including Boots, Homebase and Sainsbury’s.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has asked local businesses to evacuate and residents have been told to close their windows.

Staffordshire Police shared an update on behalf of fire and police, which said: “We are at the scene of a large warehouse fire in Cannock. Crews got a call just before 6.15am this morning (Thursday 9 May) to an address on Cley Road.

“We’ve currently got lots of firefighters down there alongside other colleagues from West Midlands Fire Service and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service to help bring the fire under control.”

One person wrote on social media that they’d heard a series of “explosions” during the early hours of the morning.

Another told BirminghamLive that residents in neighbouring towns had woken up to ash “all over” thier cars”.

Sam Winter, a 32-year-old scaffolder, captured footage of the fire. He said: “I drove out of Cannock Chase to a plume of smoke, so I drove all the way following it to get a video as my mum works across the road from there.”

Rob Humphries, who lives in Abbots Bromley, noticed smoke while out walking his dog.

The 36-year-old, who took a picture of what he saw, said: “I was out on the morning dog walk and spotted a huge plume of smoke in the distance.

“It appeared to be coming from the other side of Cannock Chase, in the direction of Cannock.”

In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “ We are at the scene of a large warehouse fire on Cley Road in Cannock.

“We’re advising the public to avoid the area. If you live nearby and feel you are affected, we recommend closing your windows and doors as a precaution. We will share updates as soon as we’re able to.”

They had previously said that 10 fire engines were in attendance as well as specialist equipment.

Businesses have been evacuated and residents are being urged to close their windows after a huge fire broke at an industrial estate in Staffordshire.

Footage shared on social media shows large plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky near the A460 Orbital Island in Cannock with 10 fire engines rushing to the scene at 6:15am.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire started at Super Smart Services – a distribution warehouse “which contains a variety of different materials for delivery”.

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Welcome to our live coverage as firefighters continue to tackle a large fire in Staffordshire, with local businesses forced to evacuate.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates here.