Norfolk County Council said the fire at Wiser Recycling in Thetford means it has had to impose an immediate stop on the acceptance of electrical items at its 19 recycling centres.

The council normally uses Wiser Recycling, in Brunel Way, to process the electrical items people take to tips - such as computers, televisions, vacuum cleaners and vapes.

Damage at Wiser Recycling (Image: Denise Bradley)

Items are screened at the business to see if they can be repaired, refurbished and resold and, if not, they are broken down into components which can be reused.

But a fire broke out at the business at just after 7pm on Thursday, with firefighters from 27 crews tackling the inferno at its height.

People were advised to close their windows and doors due to the large plumes of smoke coming from the blaze.

Crews were still at the scene on Friday, with photographs showing significant damage to the building.

And, with Wiser Recycling now out of action, the council has had to bring in the temporary restriction at tips until contingency measures can be brought into place.

A spokeswoman said: "Norfolk County Council is working closely with its contractor to assess the situation, put contingency arrangements in place and restore services as quickly as possible and we are hopeful that electrical waste collections will resume by the middle of next week."

Norfolk County Council's recycling centres will not be able to accept electrical items (Image: Mike Page)

While the restriction is in place, officials at County Hall are pleading with people not to put electrical items - or batteries - in their bins instead.

They say that could spark more fires, with lithium-ion batteries a particular worry, because the blazes they cause are particularly difficult to extinguish.

The spokeswoman said: "Residents are reminded to never place electrical items or batteries in household waste bins, as this poses a serious fire risk.

"People are asked to safely store unwanted electrical items at home until services resume."

The fire will also have repercussions for the bulky waste collections which district councils offer.

Norwich City Council is not affected, as it has separate arrangements.

It comes at a time when the county council has already been forced to stop accepting fridges and freezers at its recycling centres.

That was because a fire at a West Midland business which dealt with those, coupled with a Welsh company which did likewise going into administration, left the council struggling to find somewhere to process them.

© Norwich Evening News