Firefighters called to a burning tower of pallets had a shock when they chanced upon several dozen gas cylinders stored nearby which could have gone off "like a bomb."

Thousands of gallons of water had to be used to cool the flames and around 30 canisters on Walsall Wood's Maybrook Industrial Estate.

At least 10 fire engines and scores of firefighters from across Walsall, Wolverhampton and Sandwell were sent to tackle the blaze.

A 20ft pile of pallets, was well alight when the first crews arrived at around 5.30pm on Saturday. 

Firefighters pumped water from the Rushall Canal to tackle the blaze. Bloxwich watch commander Dave Stringer said crews had to investigate the site to find out what hidden dangers there may be.

"It was a bit of a shock when we opened up a storage unit and found row after row of propane gas cylinders, probably about 30, in the middle of a blazing fire. They were sealed but had the potential to go off like a bomb," he said.

Crews returned to the scene yesterday to ensure all burning embers were extinguished. The cause of the fire is believed to have been arson.