STAFF have begun a clean-up operation at a Gwent plant ravaged by fire at the weekend.

AMF Polymers plastic reclamation factory on the Avondale Industrial Estate in Cwmbran was gutted by the blaze, which raged for around four hours on Saturday afternoon and was visible from as far away as Cardiff and Abergavenny.

A team of 80 firefighters battled to put out the fire in a storage area and an oil tank in the firm's yard.

They remained on the scene damping down the smouldering building throughout the night and returned to secure the site on Sunday.

Vincent Horrell, a works manager at the 14-year-old company, said: "The fire ruined one side of the building, which has had to be replaced. We aren't up and running just yet, but we are in cleaning up. Luckily, we haven't had to close down, as I feared we would." Pallets and plastics and telephone cables had sparked two separate fires, sending clouds of smoke over 200 feet and attracting onlookers from the nearby area.

Mr Horrell said the cost of the damage had not yet been calculated.

South Wales Fire Service described it as a "potentially dangerous fire" and launched an investigation with Gwent Police.

A police spokesman said that they had initially thought it was suspicious, but they were awaiting the results of tests being carried out by fire accident investigators to determine the cause.

He said: "Obviously, if we discover any accelerants at the scene to suggest it was started deliberately, we will take the investigation further."

He appealed for anyone with information to contact Cwmbran police on 01633 838999.

PICTURE: Works manager Vincent Horrell at the fire-damaged AMF Polymers site in Cwmbran