High Wycombe fire: Eyewitnesses speak out about devastating Cressex blaze

The fire, at Cressex Business Park, destroyed a two-storey industrial building in Lincoln Road, used to store plastic for domestic use, after its roof collapsed, as well as a garage storing eight cars.

The garage collapsed, with the cars also destroyed.

The thick smoke could be seen as could be seen as far away as far away as Hurley, Henley-on-Thames and even Heathrow Airport, with residents in High Wycombe reporting hearing “loud bangs and pops”.

Sixteen fire engines and crews from Buckinghamshire, Royal Berkshire and Oxfordshire fire services, as well as nine officers – making around 70 people in total – were called to the scene.

Thankfully no-one was injured, Bucks Fire confirmed.

Residents in the Deeds Grove area were asked to keep their windows and doors shut despite the warm weather because of the smoke heading in their direction, and a number of businesses on the industrial estate were also forced to evacuate the area for the workers’ safety.

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Reader Ian McCall noticed the smoke as he was coming back from walking his dogs in Marlow Bottom.

He said: “I thought it was a lot closer than it was, I was surprised at the distance as I carried on walking.”

And Verity Maskell said she saw the smoke as she was leaving the Basepoint Centre, where she works.

She added: “I drove down Lincoln Road but was asked to turn around by the fire engines. There was popping and crackling, and huge flames as tall as the building.

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“I turned my car around and parked back in Basepoint, and my employee and I walked on foot down a path to evacuate the area.”

Daniel Cable said he was working in Hamilton Road, and had come out of a job when he thought it “looked a bit overcast”.

He added he could then see the black smoke “coming from the ground”.