North: Scrapyard cordoned off after blaze

An exclusion zone was in place today after a scrapyard fire in Co Antrim forced up to 100 families out of their homes.

Residents in Longlands Avenue in the Longlands area of Newtownabbey were moved to a community centre when the blaze was at its height amid fears over asbestos and a gas tank in the yard.

Police confirmed residents were no longer being asked to keep their doors and windows closed, while roads in the affected area have been reopened.

But a PNSI spokesman said a 200-metre exclusion zone was in place around the yard following the fire, which started shortly after 8pm yesterday.

It is expected to remain in place until this evening.

This affects a nearby retail development and the stores B&Q, Currys and Carpetright.

A number of shoppers were asked to stay in a supermarket in the Abbey Centre from 9pm to 10pm due to fears of asbestos in the air.

The blaze was extinguished this morning.