About 40 firefighters tackled a severe blaze in a scrapyard near Crawley.

The fire service was called at 8.30pm on Wednesday and discovered tyres, oil and other materials on fire.

But highly flammable Acetylene gas cylinders were discovered on the site, forcing firefighters to withdraw and tackle the blaze from a safe distance.

Police closed the road between Leafield Road and Field Assarts until the site was made safe.

Fire officers interviewed the yard’s owners yesterday to try to determine the cause.