PICTURE SLIDESHOW: Derbyshire business vows to bounce back after huge blaze

The factory fire at Tibshelf Services. Picture from Derbyshire fire service.

A business has vowed to bounce back after one of its factories near the M1 in Derbyshire was engulfed by flames.

Investigations are ongoing to establish the cause of the major blaze at the Wanzl warehouse on Sawpit Lane, Tibshelf.

The factory was ravaged by the fire, which sent a huge plume of smoke spiralling into the air and over the motorway.

Tony Barber, director of operations at Wanzl, which makes shopping trolleys, said: “While a plastic products store and showroom have been destroyed on the eastern side of the building, our main storage facility is intact and we will re-commence normal operations during the course of the week.”

Nobody was injured in the incident.

Firefighters from Alfreton, Bolsover, Shirebrook, Clay Cross, Mansfield and Ashfield were called to the blaze – next to junction 28 of the M1 – at about 3.30am on Tuesday.

Peter Matlby, station manager at Derbyshire fire service, said: “This was a serious incident which caused a lot of damage.

“It was a complex firefighting operation and there was the added risk of thick, acrid smoke drifting over the M1 during the rush-hour.”

A spokesman for Derbyshire fire service said the factory stored a “large amount of plastic”.

They added: “The fire started in the loading bay and spread to both floors of the factory.”

Two aerial ladder platforms were in attendance.

It is not yet clear what sparked the fire but investigations are continuing to the cause.

The southbound stretch of the motorway was closed between junctions 28 and 29 but later reopened.

Tibshelf Services and Sawpit Lane were also closed.

Eyewitnesses described the blaze as “huge”.