Eight fire engines and drone battle huge tip fire at the Sort It Centre in Mangotsfield

Eight fire engines and a drone are currently at the scene of a huge tip fire on the outskirts of Bristol.

Residents are being asked to keep their doors and windows closed as a large plume of smoke billows from the blaze, which broke out at the Sort It Centre in Mangotsfield at arond 10.50am this morning.

According to motorists on the Kingswood People Facebook group the fire has also sent smoke over the A4174 Bristol ring road.

Crews from Temple, Kingswood, Hicks Gate and Yate are using high pressure hose reels to extinguish the fire as it rages on at the Carsons Road tip.

The Avon Fire Service drone has also been flying across the area to support crews.

A spokesperson for the service said: “We continue to encourage people to avoid the area where possible.”

South Gloucestershire Council confirmed that its Sort It Centre in Mangotsfield was closed due to the fire.

The authority’s other three recycling centres in Yate, Thornbury and Little Stoke are open as normal.

Update: The fire has now been extinguished by firefighters who used two 45mm jets, two high pressure hose reels and multiple thermal imaging cameras. The cause of the fire is thought to be accidental.