Firefighters were called to the scene at Mill Hill and have spent hours battling the blaze, as well as setting up a hazard zone around nearby gas cylinders to try and prevent any explosions. Train services have also been disrupted, with Thameslink, Southeastern and East Midland trains all experiencing schedule delays as a result of the fire.
''The scrapyard is close to a residential area so a number of people have been evacuated from nearby houses as a precaution. We're obviously aware this is causing some disruption so our crews are working really hard to bring the flames under control,” said Station manager Dave Bird, according to the Telegraph.co.uk
No injuries have been reported and the fire service was unable to confirm how many people had been evacuated from the surrounding area, or what caused the blaze. The fire is expected to cause substantial traffic disruptions and affect those heading in and out of the capital as the weekend approaches.
An East Midlands Trains spokeswoman said that half of the tracks on the Midland mainline between St Pancras and Bedford had been closed due to the incident, causing cancellations and delays on London services. The tracks were shut at around 5.20am and reopened at 7.20am.
"The number of lines going from Bedford to London were reduced from four to two. As a result we started to reduce the number of services. Only three services were partially cancelled," the spokeswoman said.
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