MORE than 30 firefighters battled a blaze at a waste transfer site in Hampshire early today.

The blaze broke out in a large building containing a huge amount of rubbish – but the flames were kept at bay by the site’s sprinkler system.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said the 3am fire at Down End Lane, Fareham, “could have been a lot worse”.

A spokesman said: “Fortunately they had a sprinkler system that saved the building, plant machinery and a lot of rubbish by surpressing the fire until we got there and put it out.”

Firefighters from Fareham, Cosham, Eastleigh and Portchester remained at the scene until 6am.

The cause of the blaze is unknown but could have been caused by heat generated by the rubbish.