AN ASBESTOS and hazardous chemical scare turned a New Forest community into a no-go zone after an inferno ripped through a waste storage centre at the weekend.

Gas masks were handed out to those inside the cordoned-off area around Marchwood Transfer Station after the blaze broke out shortly after 9pm on Saturday night.

The area was plunged into chaos as residents endured sporadic power cuts and were warned to stay indoors and keep windows and doors closed due to fears they would inhale the toxic fumes.

Flames were spotted lashing the roof of the old refuse incinerator from at least two miles away as a huge plume of smoke drifted in a south-westerly direction towards Lyndhurst.

Around 200 tonnes of household waste including old beds, mattresses and sofas that could not be recycled were being stored in the 30 metre by 30 metre building.

Three road closures were put into place as the area around the waste holding depot in Bury Road was cordoned off for more than 18 hours.

Wearing protective masks police diverted traffic at the junctions of Main Road and Tavells Lane, Normandy Road and Shorefield Road and Jacob's Gutter Lane with Trotts Lane.

Around 70 firefighters from across Hampshire and a ladder platform crew from Dorset tackled the blaze, which started at 9.14pm on Saturday night and finally came to an end at 3.04pm yesterday.

Six fire crews from Totton, Hythe, Redbridge and St Mary's worked throughout the night to put out the fire in the cold, wet, windy and, at one time, snowy conditions while a police spotter plane equipped with heat-seeking cameras closely monitored the smoky clouds.

Officers were on standby in three police vans in nearby Lloyds Recreation Ground in case any homes needed to be evacuated, although as the night wore on the prospect became increasingly unlikely.

Meanwhile Onyx contractors moved many of their lorries from the burning building in case it collapsed.

Yesterday morning emergency services, combined with New Forest District Council and representatives of the Environment Agency, re-iterated their advice for people to stay indoors.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue's Incident Commander, Division Officer Ian Mills, said: "We issued a warning as a precaution because of the effects that smoke can have away from the site.

"The transfer station is a holding depot for all the stuff that businesses and homes throw out that can't be recycled - some of this could be plastics and could give off a lot of potentially hazardous smoke."

He added: "The measure was essentially taken because all smoke is dangerous, and when people die in a house fire, it's often the smoke that kills them."

Divisional officer Mills said high winds brought great difficulty for crews trying to tackle the blaze.

"We had around 70 firefighters here at the height of the blaze and we used a defensive approach from the outside because with this type of fire there's nothing you can do but try and control it."

The building stores refuse collected from household waste recycling centres before it is taken to a landfill site.

Waste management company Onyx has run the station since it stopped being used as a refuse incinerator in 1996.

Project Director for Onyx Hampshire John Collis said: "The fire occurred in a bunker at the transfer station and all the waste was household. There was no toxic waste at all.

"The warning given out was a precaution. I can never say there is no risk but in this case there's such a minimal risk it is inconsequential and I do not believe there is any cause for concern."

Police issued a warning to local pubs in the village to advise people to stay put rather than make the journey home as fears of a deadly asbestos link to the building circulated.

"There is asbestos in a stairwell of the building and in the furnace of the old incinerator but the fire never reached these areas, as it was contained in the bunker," said Mr Collis.

Mike Proctor of Woodpecker Drive said: "I was walking my dog and one of my neighbours came and told me about the fire so I grabbed my camera.

"It's got a bad name because no one likes it. It's a bit of an ugly entrance to the village. We would be really pleased to see the back of it."

Some Marchwood residents felt they should have been given a stronger warning of the potential hazard as youngsters were spotted playing on a skate park in the Cork Field Recreation Ground opposite the burning station on Sunday morning.

Ivy Judd-Baker of Pooksgreen said she was in direct line of the smoke from the fire but never received a warning about the danger.

"I got a phone call from my son-in-law and looked out the back door and saw the whole top square of the building alight. There are a lot of houses along this road and we often get bad smells from the station," she said.

Sue Brook of Philpott Drive said she saw the blaze as she was driving past at 10pm.

Parish councillor Carolyn Bianchi of Tavell's Lane also saw the flames from her home and said the general feeling in the village is of relief that no one was hurt: "The sooner the station comes down the better. it's a monstrosity and a blot on the landscape."