This dramatic picture shows the moment a scrapyard in east London was engulfed by flames.
Fire investigators were this afternoon trying to work out what caused the blaze, which saw four crews battling 20 tonnes of burning rubbish and two temporary buildings engulfed.
The fire, reported at 2.20pm, was brought under control in an hour. Plumes of smoke were visible against the clear sky for miles around and witnesses took to Twitter to share their photos.
"Just saw a huge pall of black smoke go up around Poplar/Blackwall in London," wrote Neil S (@screen_candy). "Hope it's nothing serious."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/LondonFire" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-61936-https://twitter.com/LondonFire" data-vars-event-id="c23">@LondonFire</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&id=222025&p=http://t.co/w9ge9rMuBL" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-61936-http://t.co/w9ge9rMuBL" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/w9ge9rMuBL</a>— Liam Dyas (@DyasLiam) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/DyasLiam/status/590511556468678656" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-61936-https://twitter.com/DyasLiam/status/590511556468678656" data-vars-event-id="c23">April 21, 2015</a>
Danielle Stacey (@daniellestacey1) added: "Plume of smoke over Poplar - anyone know what's going on?"
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/LondonFire" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-61936-https://twitter.com/LondonFire" data-vars-event-id="c23">@LondonFire</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&id=222025&p=http://t.co/iTCatN4EGZ" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-61936-http://t.co/iTCatN4EGZ" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/iTCatN4EGZ</a>— K.K (@KarolKonicz) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/KarolKonicz/status/590515840765788160" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-61936-https://twitter.com/KarolKonicz/status/590515840765788160" data-vars-event-id="c23">April 21, 2015</a>
Referring to the Queen's 89th birthday, Ollie Speller suggested the smoke could be "someone lighting up all the candles on the Queen's birthday cake".
Fortunately no one is thought to have been injured in the fire, but three people had to be evacuated from a warehouse adjacent to the site in Ailsa Street, Poplar.
