This was the shocking scene as a huge fire broke out at the Corkers Crisps factory in Pymoor, near Ely.
A massive plume of black smoke could be seen for miles around after the blaze broke out at about 3pm on Saturday (May 30).
Residents were advised to keep their doors and windows closed as a number of industrial units went up in the blaze.
More than 60 firefighters from Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk were involved in tackling the blaze, with 12 fire appliances used an a water carrier from RAF Mildenhall.
Group commander Paul Clarke described it as a “very serious fire”.
“There are a lot of hazards to contend with,” he said, adding that the fire had built up rapidly.
High winds also caused challenges for firefighters, and the Covid-19 crisis meant the large number of firefighters on site to take extra care.
The fire was under control by about 8.30pm, but was not expected to be extinguished until the early hours of Sunday morning.
“We are making very, very good progress,” said Mr Clarke, talking at 9.15pm. “Please do keep doors and windows closed in the area. We will be here all through the night and probably most of Sunday as well.”
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
The Taylor family have been growing potatoes at their Fenland farm, Willow Farm, for six generations.
Ross Taylor launched Corkers, by hand-cooking crisps using traditional methods, in 2010.
The company grows, cooks and packages the crisps on the farm to reduce food miles, and has made sustainability one of its priorities.
Corkers has won multiple awards – and has two Guinness World Records to its name – one for the first bag of crisps in space and the other for the biggest bag of crisps in the world, which weighed in at an astonishing 1.14 tonnes.
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