More than 70 firefighters from across east London spent much of the night tackling a huge fire that affected 400 tonnes of recycling waste.

The blaze at a recycling plant in Scarab Close in Canning Town, which broke out after midnight, covered the area in large plumes of smoke. The emergency services also closed roads in the vicinity as crews tackled what was described as a “large fire” affecting 400 tonnes of waste.

Residents in the area were warned to keep doors and windows closed. Road closures caused the most disruption as they took effect during the rush hour.

At its height, there were ten fire engines from stations in East Ham, Plaistow, Stratford, Shadwell, Milwall, Ilford, Homerton, Dagenham, East Greenwich and Tooting at the scene.

Although the fire was brought under control by 6am, a large cloud of smoke was still visible throughout the morning, drifting over the area. Fire crews are expected to remain at the site for the rest day to dampen down pockets of fire.

Station Manager Paul McClenaghan who was at the scene said: “An eight metre stack of about 400 tonnes of domestic recycling materials was affected by the blaze. Crews worked hard to bring the blaze under control and to stop it from spreading to neighbouring buildings on the industrial estate.” The cause of the fire is under investigation.

As the third of 15 periods of FBU industrial action taking place between July 15 and July 21 got underway at 6am four contingency fire crews were mobilised to take over from London Fire Brigade firefighters at the incident. The contingency crews remained at the scene until the end of the strike period at 8am when London Fire Brigade crews took over.