A HUGE fire at a car scrapyard in Newport brought gridlock to the city on Friday.

And an arson probe is now in progress as fire investigators examine the cause of the blaze yesterday afternoon at the Wharf Car Dismantlers site on Docks Way.

Clouds of thick, black smoke engulfed George Street Bridge and drifted over large parts of the city as teams of firefighters from across Gwent battled for over an hour to bring the fire under control.

Police were initially forced to close the bridge because of concerns over visibility and fears that gas cylinders on the site could explode.

Traffic was diverted through Newport city centre, leading to long delays on all the city's main roads, and lengthy queues.

Nobody was injured in the fire at the scrapyard, although between 20 and 30 scrap vehicles were gutted.

Owner Roger Steed revealed it is the second time in a year that fire has devastated his premises, with a similar blaze breaking out a year ago to the day.

Mr Steed said: "It is terrible. We were supposed to be leaving here in a month and moving to new premises.

"That is all my new stock that has gone up. It looks to me like it was kids messing about. But once you get a fire here, especially when it's dry like this, everything just goes up."

South Wales Fire Service's assistant divisional officer, Gwyn Jones, said: "There were acetylene cylinders on the premises, which we were concerned about. We surrounded the fire and soon brought it under control.

"We have been conscious about the environmental issues, so have been reducing the amount of water we are using."

Fire crews were still at the site this morning, investigating the cause of the fire and damping down the scene of the blaze, and a police spokesman confirmed that the fire would be treated as suspicious while investigations are carried out.

A spokesman for AA Roadwatch said the traffic problems were compounded by delays on the M4 westbound between Junction 23A, by the Severn Bridge, up to Junction 30, at Cardiff Gate.

He said: "This is due to the bank holiday, but also a number of breakdowns."

A minor accident involving four cars at 4.20pm near the Coldra roundabout added to the chaos.

Julie O'Rourke, of Dragon Taxis, said: "It has been absolute murder. Our taxis weren't moving so we couldn't take any bookings."