Firefighters spent three hours trying to dig up a piece of debris alight in a scrap metal yard this morning.

A crew from Dagenham were called to reports of a small fire at the industrial site in Chequers Lane, Dagenham, at around 1.30am.

But when they arrived, they found the debris so deep-seated that they called another crew from Ilford in to help.

After toiling away for three hours, the firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control at around 4.30am.

A crew is still at the scene investigating the cause.