A BRIERLEY Hill factory has been gutted by a major fire which ripped through the building during the early hours of this morning (July 9).

The blaze at the Canalside Industrial Estate on Wedgebury Way is now out however crews will remain at the scene for the rest of the day damping down.

West Midlands Fire Service earlier advised residents to keep windows and closed as smoke billowed from the blaze.

Around 50 firefighters were on the scene at the height of the incident at approximately 5am, with crews using water from a nearby canal to help extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters from stations in Brierley Hill, Dudley, Stourbridge, Haden Cross, Bilston and Tipton attended the scene.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Fire Service said: "At 3.47am this morning (Thurs 9 July) we started to receive several 999 calls from members of the public reporting a fire on the Canalside Industrial Estate, Wedgbury Road, Brierley Hill.

"The first of our crews arrived in five minutes and, at the height of the incident, we had some 50 firefighters at the scene.

"After an hour, crews were making good progress tackling the fire in a brick and steel unit housing motorbikes. The fire had breached the roof of the unit, which was one of several in a bigger building measuring 70 x 15 metres.

"Water from a nearby canal was used as part of our efforts to bring the fire under control and extinguish it.

"Resources at the scene have now been scaled down, although we expect to have crews there through the morning."