Huge blaze breaks out at Avonmouth Evri parcel depot as enormous plume of black smoke seen for miles

A huge fire has broken out at a parcel depot run by courier firm Evri in Avonmouth, Bristol, with the smoke visible for miles.

Avon Fire and Rescue has urged locals to keep their windows and doors shut as thick plumes of smoke poured into the sky.

The parcel depot is located at the Access 18 industrial estate around seven miles from Bristol city centre. 

Images shared on social media showed the flames licking at the rear of a car.

Others showed the smoke pouring into the sky from several miles away, visible to motorists travelling along the M5 motorway. 

'Are we going to get evacuated?' one person asks in footage shared online.

'We're definitely going to get evacuated,' someone else asks off camera.

Evri says everyone at the depot is safe - and that 'very few' parcels were on site, with vans out and about completing deliveries. The firm has not said whether any parcels were destroyed.

A spokesperson said: 'Fire services attended a fire at our Avonmouth depot earlier today; all colleagues on site are safe and the fire has now been put out.

'Our main priority has been to ensure that all colleagues are safe, the cause of the fire will be fully investigated in due course.

'There were very few parcels at the site at the time with the vast majority of outbound deliveries having left the building.

'We have quickly made plans for alternative arrangements to minimise disruption to deliveries taking place over the next few days.'

The fire service said: 'We’re currently in attendance at warehouse fire in Avonmouth.

'We would advise people living or working in the local area to close their doors and windows.

'We will issue further updates via our Twitter page when we are able.'

The service says it has 16 appliances at the scene. There is no word on whether anyone has been injured. 

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service Trust 'said: We were called at 13:52hrs today to a warehouse fire at Avonmouth.  

'We have sent a commander and hazardous area response team to the scene.'