A BUCKFASTLEIGH business has been targeted by arsonists for the second time in six months.

Two large warehouses, part of Iain's Reclamation and Salvage, in Glebelands, Holne Road, were totally destroyed by a blaze in the early hours of Wednesday morning which took 50 firefighters to get under control.

Tons of salvage materials fuelled the fire, which raged for several hours, completely gutting the two large outbuildings.

Following several 999 calls at around 1am, crews from Buckfastleigh, Ashburton, Bovey Tracey, Totnes, Ivybridge and Torquay arrived on the scene and, wearing breathing apparatus, used five water jets to prevent the blaze from spreading to another adjacent warehouse.

Neighbours in nearby apartment blocks could only watch in horror as flames lit up the sky and materials exploded, sending sparks showering down onto the road.

'I was about to turn in just before 1am when I thought I could smell toast,' said Alistair Cruickshank, a resident of neighbouring Williams Court. 'The cats were acting a bit odd too and I began to hear this cracking noise. I looked out of the window and I could see smoke pouring out of the middle of the yard. I grabbed the phone and dialled 999 and was told that two fire engines would be sent out.

'Then, there was a terrific bang and sparks went shooting out of the yard. I think it must have been the tiles exploding.

'One of my concerns was that burning embers would blow onto Williams Court. The building is concrete on the outside, but behind that it is made of wood. There are quite a lot of elderly people in the flats, so if this place had gone up it could have disastrous. The heat was incredible. Even standing behind a glass door it was very hot.'

Another neighbour, Kirsty Fordham, told how she and her husband, Chris, heard two loud explosions before the flames took hold. Mrs Fordham said she was concerned for the safety of her two children as the fire continued to burn through the night

Arson Task Force officers, Scenes of Crime investigators and the hydrocarbon search dog, remained on the scene throughout Wednesday morning, searching for clues as to how the fire was started.

Pete Sandel, fire investigation officer with the Arson Task Force, said the fact that the business had been a target for arson previously and the state of the yard's security when fire crews arrived pointed towards a deliberate attack. The 'explosions' described by neighbours were, said Mr Sandel, probably just aerosols from the salvage yard bursting.

'At this point though,' he said, 'we have to remain open- minded about the cause.'

The reclamation yard, owned by Iain Bryans, was the subject of a police investigation in January of this year, when damage was caused to panelling and the frame of a warehouse by a deliberately lit fire. No-one was arrested for the crime.

The Task Force is hoping that anyone with further information about the fire, or who saw anything suspicious on Tuesday night will come forward. Crimestoppers can be called, confidentially, on 0800 555111.