THE manager of a breaker’s yard that went up in flames said some of the damage could have been avoided had their been more firefighters on alert.

Dele Aliny, the manager of Alirak Motors in Sandy Lane, Chadwell St Mary, looked on as more than 40 vehicles were destroyed by fire on Wednesday afternoon.

The blaze occurred at the exact same time Essex Fire crews were battling a major fire at Tilbury Power Station, as well as at Thorney Bay Caravan Park, Canvey.

Mr Aliny, 43, said the damage, which is expected to run into tens of thousands of pounds, could have been less severe had crews arrived quicker.

He said: “I appreciate there were fires at Tilbury Power Station and Canvey, but there should be more support for fire crews when this kind of thing happens.

“I spotted the fire and called the fire brigade within minutes.

“I did try to use a fire extinguisher, but the flames had taken hold and it was not enough.”

The fire was caused by a pick-up device on the back of a lorry over-heating.

It was dealt with by crews from Ongar, Southend, Hawkwell and Billericay.

The fire also spread to a neighbouring yard containing a large quantity of wooden fencing.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gordon Hunter, director of operations and resilience, said: “It’s unusual for us to have to face three major incidents in the same part of the county at one time.

“As would be expected at such busy times, we will take longer than we routinely would to get extra crews to any other local incidents because our covering resources will have to travel a greater distance, as happened in this case.”