Sixty firefighters fought blaze that destroyed around £40,000 worth of stock at a Tipton factory overnight.

The inferno swept through around 100 pallets - each holding £250 worth of plastic plant pots - and gutted a metal container in which a further £15,000 of stock was stored.

It took 12 crews from a mixture of fire stations throughout the area to prevent the flames spreading to the main building of injection moulding firm Aeroplas Ltd in Great Western Way. The fire was this morning being treated as suspicious.

Amazingly, the firefighters had the blaze under control within 90 minutes after the alarm was raised at around 11:30pm. Nine jets - one from a hydraulic platform - poured water onto the flames and fought to keep the nearby building from being consumed by the inferno.

Tipton Fire Station's Watch Commander, Martin Mills, said:

"The main problem was getting water to it. Initially we were not able to get as close to it as we would have liked because of the heat that was being chucked out by the fire.

"The hydraulic platform was a big help because that enabled us to get over the top of it."

Watch Commander Adam Joyce from Oldbury fire station added:

"There was a rapid development of the fire because of the material involved. It was also stored outside and the breeze helped it to develop even quicker.

"But there were eight crews on the ground and another on the hydraulic platform surrounding the fire who got water onto it as quickly as possible. This enabled a prompt extinguishing of the fire."

Investigations into the blaze are continuing to establish what started it but the cause is currently being regarded as suspicious.