TAUNTON Recycling Site is to remain closed until further notice due to a fire at the neighbouring Material Recovery Facility yesterday (Tuesday, October 3).

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) has said the facility on the Crown Industrial Estate, in Priorswood - where recycling is sorted for sending out to be reprocessed - is structurally unsafe.

Due to the facility’s proximity to the household recycling site, it is not currently deemed safe to provide access to the public.

DSFRS were still in attendance yesterday evening following the early morning blaze and it is likely that the fire will continue for the next couple of days.

Residents in smoke affected areas are advised to keep windows and doors closed.

READ MORE: Massive fire at Taunton Recycling Centre.

Somerset Council is asking people not to go to the site and to hold on to their recycling if they can.

Alternatively, residents can put it through their kerbside collections if it is the right material or try one of the other sites if they can’t.

Wellington Recycling Site will be open for the rest of the week, as will Bridgwater, which usually closes on a Wednesday.

If Taunton remains closed, Wellington (Poole) Recycling Site will open next Monday and Tuesday (October 9 and 10).

Local sites can be found online at www.somerset.gov.uk/find-your-nearest-recycling-centre/.

Fire services were called to the site in Priorswood, Taunton in the early hours of the Tuesday morning and up to 60 firefighters and seven appliances were involved in tackling the blaze. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

Cllr Dixie Darch, Somerset Council lead member for environment and climate change, said: “We send our thanks to the crews from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue who promptly responded to the situation.

“We continue to work with Biffa - (which operates the site on behalf of the council) - to ensure that we can provide a household waste recycling service, including additional opening days at nearby recycling sites.”

A spokesperson from Biffa said: "We would like to thank the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service who are currently on site at our Taunton Recycling Centre attending to a fire.

"A full investigation will commence into the cause of the fire and it would therefore not be appropriate to comment further at this stage."