FIRE crews have beeen scaling down the operation at a waste processing site in Prescot, which has been ravaged by fire.

Firefighters and a demolition team have been removing parts of the Carr Lane building safely to clear away debris and dampen down hot spots.

A combined platform ladder has been used as a water tower to dampen down areas of heat.

Pockets of smoke remain at the site due to the deep-seated nature of the fire.

Fire appliances will remain to dampen down smoke and, as of 4pm today, crews will attend every four to five hours to walk the site, survey the situation and dampen down.

This system will continue over the weekend ahead of a meeting on Monday morning to discuss developments and the next steps forward.

On Wednesday, Remondis UK, which owns the site, said: “Immediately following notification of the fire on site, our senior management team has been working around the clock to manage and mitigate the impact of the situation on the local community and environment.

“Due to the nature of the site and the location of the fire, it has been necessary to class the area as a demolition site and are working as quickly as possible to allow the fire to be extinguished.

“A plan has been agreed among all parties and is being followed, with further demolition work due to take place to allow the fire crew additional access to the site.

“We would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support and patience while we ensure that this is dealt with properly to manage and mitigate the impact on the environment and local community.

“The security guard on site followed all safety protocols and the emergency services and senior management were immediately alerted and attended site.

“This has also been a challenging time for the emergency services and Prescot community.

“We would like to thank everyone involved to date - and those who will be taking part in the investigations in the weeks to come - for their patience, support and hard-work in managing and mitigating the impact.”

The fire broke out at the Remondis Centre on Sunday morning, which saw road and business closures and around 60 to 70 firefighters in attendance.