THIS dramatic picture shows all that is left following an inferno which destroyed a giant Hampshire warehouse.

Millions of pounds worth of Christmas toys went up in smoke in one of the biggest fires ever seen in the county.

Six days after the blaze ripped through Import Services Contract (UK) Limited, in Bishopstoke near Eastleigh, the massive clean-up operation is still going on.

A council taskforce has been cleaning up roads and footpaths which were under the path of the huge plume of smoke.

The monitoring carried out by Eastleigh Council's environmental experts has showed there is no harmful level of pollution.

Climatic conditions meant that the fumes and smoke did not clear as quickly as it was hoped. A heavy smog hung over the town more than 24 hours after the towering inferno and some shops closed after staff complained of feeling ill.

A council spokesman said: "The borough council is currently cleaning up the remains of the fall out on the public roads and footpaths. This work should be completed within 24 hours."

A giant sweep-up was completed in the Bishopstoke and Fair Oak area on Friday and yesterday the clean up was completed in the area near the Tower Lane Industrial Estate - the scene of the devastating fire. It could take up to three weeks to clear the ruins of the warehouse and the tons of twisted steel and bricks.

Two giant excavators, weighing 45 tons and 25 tons, are being used by the demolition squad. The office block which was saved from the intensity of the fire will also face the bulldozer.

Smoke has still been rising from the ashes and the first priority has been to make the area safe.

Several tons of rubble have to be cleared before it is possible to get to the pockets of fire. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is monitoring the situation and is ready to be called in if the fire flares up again.

Ten tonnes of Play-Doh and half a million Sylvanian Families toy figures worth £5m, went up in smoke during the inferno.

Special airlifts are under way from the Far East to make sure that replacement toys will be available to fill Christmas stockings.