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Homes evacuated as fire rages near golf course

Richard PriceWest Midlands
BBC A fire engine is parked on a road with a plume of smoke seen in the distance. There are trees and houses either side of the road as well as parked vehicles further back.BBC
A huge plume of smoke can be seen across parts of Stourbridge on Thursday

About 60 firefighters are tackling a huge fire near a golf course, with flames said by witnesses to be spreading across roads in some places.

A huge plume of smoke was reported in the area around Stourbridge Golf Course on Thursday afternoon, from about 13:00 BST, with people advised to avoid the area and nearby residents told to keep doors and windows shut.

Nobody was reported to be hurt, West Midlands Fire Service said.

Some homes were evacuated as a precaution.

Suzanne Webb A large plume of smoke can be seen in the distance, billowing above a residential street in the foreground with cars parked either side.Suzanne Webb
A plume of smoke from the fire can be seen from several miles away

BBC reporter Ian Murphy said he could smell smoke in the air in Wollaston, a few miles away from the fire.

"The inside of the house smells so strongly that I went to check in the garden and upstairs in case the fire was much closer," he said.

"My parents live round the corner from the fire and said they first noticed it when they went to sit outside at around 13:00 BST.

"They can hear very loud explosions, loud cracking and there's loads of dense smoke in the air."

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