FIREFIGHTERS have tackled their third blaze in a year at a skipyard in Birkenhead.

The fire at the premises on Wallasey Bridge Road on Monday involved around 10,000 tonnes of waste material.

Crews were called out at around 11am got the fire under control. The fire blew large plumes of smoke across Poulton Bridge Road.

Three fire appliances were sent to the scene and firefighters carried out the process of damping down during Monday afternoon.

There were no reports that anyone was injured in the incident. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Group Manager Paul Murphy, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service district manager for Wirral, said: "Fires involving waste materials, particularly those involving large volumes of waste materials, can take some time to deal with and to make sure there are no further signs of fire.

"Firefighters worked well in quite challenging conditions to bring this fire under control and to carry out extensive damping down operations.

“Fire crews visited the site during the night after leaving at 7.52pm on Monday evening and have visited the site again on Tuesday morning to liaise with staff there.

"Thermal imaging cameras were also used during their visit overnight to check temperatures in the waste material to see if there were any signs of a fire."

In September, nearby householders were advised to keep their windows closed after smoke billowed from a blaze at the site. Large volumes of smoke could be seen from the M53.

Last April, crews were in action at a "deep-seated fire" underneath peat and compost on land between Wallasey Bridge Road and the A5139.