People living near the scene of a large warehouse fire have been warned to keep their windows and doors shut and not pick up any debris on the ground amid asbestos fears.

Firefighters are tackling a huge blaze which broke out at the site of an old Lucozade factory in Salford in the early hours of Thursday.

Crews have been battling the fire at the Worsley Trading Estate in Little Hulton for several hours and say it has been brought under control, but urged nearby residents to take necessary health precautions. 

At its height, the fire was 100m by 100m and 10 fire engines were at the scene.

Tony Bryan, incident commander at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said: “As a result of the fire, some asbestos has been blown on to surfaces in the local area.

“This is low level asbestos and nothing to worry about but if you see it, please do not touch it.

“We currently have the Forward Incident Officer from the local authority supporting us at the incident.

“We are currently arranging street cleansing and notifying various premises such as schools which have been affected in the immediate vicinity.

“Our crews have worked tirelessly through the night to tackle this very challenging incident.”

He added: “Thanks to their hard work the fire is now surrounded and under control.

“There will be an emergency service presence at the scene for some time yet and there will be some disruption. I would like to thank residents for their cooperation.”

A road closure is currently in place on Manchester Road West at junction 4 of the M61 and people are being urged to stay well clear of the area.

Greater Manchester Police are helping with road closures and providing reassurance in the area.