Tadcaster brewery fire: Watch dramatic drone footage as smoke can be seen 30 miles away

A pilot on a recreational flight near Tadcaster, North Yorks, diverted and grabbed a video of the towering plume of smoke around 1pm on Thursday afternoon. Ten fire engines were sent to the fire, at a storage facility for Tower Brewery, after emergency services were alerted at 8.55am that morning.

The pilot said: "The big plume of smoke coming up caught my attention. You would have been able to see it for 20 or 30 miles. I have friends from school who work in the brewery. I was just hoping that all the staff had got out and no one was hurt, and that no dangerous gasses were being released because there's a primary school there.

"I hoped the fire fighters were in positions where they could tackle it safely. I could see the fire engines on both sides of the brewery."

An aerial ladder platform was used to help dozens of fire fighters tackle the blaze, which was in the roof, and fire fighters were still working at the site at 5pm. Molston Coors, the company which owns the brewery, and brands Carling, Coors and Madri, confirmed all staff were safe. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service asked all nearby residents to stay inside and keep windows and doors closed.

The hazardous area response team and Yorkshire ambulance service attended the scene, too.