Huge blaze at substation ‘not suspicious’

Smoke and flames billow from the Creyke Beck electricity sub-station at Cottingham, near Hull

The blaze at Creyke Beck substation, off Park Lane in Cottingham, sent large orange flames and plumes of black smoke into the sky.

The smoke was visible to residents in Market Weighton on the Yorkshire Wolds 15 miles away.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service sent six fire engines to tackle the blaze, the first arriving within 10 minutes of the call, just before 2pm yesterday.

The fire is believed to have started in an electrical transformer and is not thought to be suspicious.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service was last night urging motorists to avoid the area.

A spokesman said: “Although there is no imminent threat to health, the service is advising residents in the areas affected by smoke to remain indoors and to keep doors and windows closed as a precautionary measure.”

A man who was in the area at the time said there seemed to be an “explosion” but nobody is thought to have been hurt.

A spokeswoman for the National Grid, which owns  the substation, said local electrical supplies should  not have been affected by the  fire.

“I can confirm there is a fire at Creyke Beck substation near Cottingham,” she said.

“The fire brigade is on site. There have been no injuries and electric supplies to local homes are not affected.”