THE blaze at Averies Recycling could burn for weeks to come as firefighters continue battling to put it out.

The Adver understands that the emergency services are concerned that the waste fire, at the Marshgate site, might take longer than first thought to extinguish.

This fire, which started on Monday, July 21, has been going significantly longer than recent blazes at Swindon Skips, in Cheney Manor, and the tyre fire in Vastern, Royal Wootton Bassett, earlier this year.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is working with Averies, Swindon Council, NHS England, Wiltshire Police and the Environment Agency to deal with the blaze. The authorities met at the site yesterday to discuss their strategy.

Since the fire started nine days ago, smoke has been in the air across Swindon and residents who live near to the site hope the fire will be put out as soon as possible.

Arthur Jacobs, 66, who lives in Stratton Road, said: “It does seem to have been going on for a long time and I’m surprised that it isn’t out yet.

“I can still see the smoke simmering from my window so I’m not sure it’ll be out too soon. Thankfully, the smoke hasn’t affected us majorly, despite being so near to the site.”

The fire has had a major affect on businesses that neighbour Averies, with Treads Tyres being forced to close for a week.

A spokesperson for Treads Tyres said: “We were closed for a couple of days after the fire and then we tried to reopen on Thursday and Friday but it was just too difficult because of the smoke.

“We are pleased to be back open now and the emergency services have been very good with us, but we have lost a lot of money since we were closed.

“It would be good to speak to Averies Recycling about the earnings we’ve lost due to a fire at their site.”

The Adver could not contact Averies about the fire yesterday despite repeated attempts.

The company had previously issued an apology because of the inconvenience that the fire and smoke had caused to businesses and residents.

The fire is in the ward of Swindon councillor Mark Dempsey (Lab, Walcot and Park North), and he hopes the fire will be dealt with swiftly.

He said: “I’m grateful for the hard work of the fire services and along with local residents hope the fire is out soon. It is important that the cause of the fire is investigated so that this cannot happen again.”

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is continuing to investigate the cause of the blaze.

Anyone concerned about inhaling smoke from the site is asked to contact their GP or call NHS 111.