Fire crews from Douglas were called to an incident at Stoney Mountain last night (Fri) which threatened power supplies in the area.

It was reported a bin was on fire, but on arrival at the scene it turned out the blaze was in a huge pile of rubbish which was waiting to be processed and had been alight for some time before the alarm was raised just after 9.30pm

The flames were also very close to overhead high voltage power lines.

Officers had to stop fighting the blaze whilst advice was sought from the Manx Electricity Authority. Once it had been confirmed that water could be used to deal with the incident several thousand gallons were used to douse the flames . . and a 25 tonne excavator covered the burning material with a mixture of earth and rubble.

The fire was suppressed to the point where it was considered it would no longer pose any threat to the power lines or surrounding area.

It was still burning this morning (Sat) and is expected to continue for some time, but is being watched by the site operator and monitored by fire services and therefore not expected to pose any further hazard.

CCTV recordings are being checked to try and establish the cause of the blaze.