A mystery fire in three shipping containers sent plumes of smoke visible for miles around into the air and brought 10 fire engines into Eton Wick yesterday (Sunday).

The blaze happened at Crown Farm in Eton Wick Road when the containers which were full of tyres, car parts, mattresses and other debris caught alight.

The fire service was flooded with calls from the public from around 10am and crews from Maidenhead, Slough and Langley spent all day on the scene battling the acrid smoke from the tyres. They spent over seven hours tackling the blaze helped by specialist vehicles.

Jeff Woodhouse was working with Thames Valley Angling Association nearby clearing the nearby Boveney Ditch of waste.

He said: "The flames at one point must have reached 70 or 80 feet. The acrid smoke blew all across the village and the smell was dreadful."

Nearby horses - believed to belong to the company Film & TV Horse which provides fully trained animals to the film and television industries - had to be moved to safety. No people or horses were harmed.

The smoke was clearly visible in Windsor and Slough and roads through Eton Wick were closed by police when the smoke became too thick.

An investigation is currently underway to try and pinpoint the cause of the fire - arson has not been ruled out.