A SHORT circuit in one of the vehicles has been confirmed as the cause of a huge scrapyard fire in Poole.

The massive blaze ripped through the Charles Trent site on Friday, causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Fire investigators have since confirmed the cause as a short circuit in one of the stored vehicles, which then spread to the other cars.

Damage has been largely confined to the compound, off Ringwood Road, Poole, but a number of adjoining businesses have been affected.

Charles Trent director Marc Trent told the Daily Echo: “The fire was on one of our compounds, not our main site. Around 150 vehicles have been destroyed - these were insurance cars, most of them write-offs, and they are only stored here.

“No-one has been hurt, everyone is OK, now we’re just trying to sort the mess out and find out what the total damage is. It is carnage down here to be honest.

“The police and fire service were brilliant, we cannot thank them enough. It was largely contained within the yard, a couple of trucks have been damaged but that will all be sorted.

“We had a lot of well-wishers on the night, we’ve been around in the town for a long time and never had a fire like this before.”

Sixty firefighters worked to bring the inferno under control. At its height, thick black smoke billowed 100ft high and was visible ten miles away.

Shocked witnesses reported loud explosions as the fire leapt from vehicle to vehicle.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service confirmed 11 pumps attended the scene on Friday evening, and that the incident was officially closed at 5am on Saturday.