Firefighters are still on site at a rubbish fire in Stansted.

Crews from Stansted, Newport and Saffron Walden were called to Elsenham Road at 9.46am on Thursday after a large amount of rubbish underground caught alight.

Three fire engine were on site all day yesterday to control the blaze.

A fire spokesman said: “Crews initially reported that there was smoke visible but no sign of flames as the rubbish burned underground. After undertaking a survey of the site with the Environment Agency the decision was taken to use a digger to reveal the seat of the fire and digging operations commenced at around 1pm.

“The incident commander reported that the fire involved wood chipping and other waste which was buried and alight. There is no indication that asbestos is involved in this fire. At 2.12pm crews’ firefighting operations were in progress with crews using two main jets to tackle the blaze.”

Three new crews took over at the scene at 5pm, with another three relieving them at 9.30pm.

At 7.50am today (Friday), three crews remained at the fire.