AN explosion at a scrapyard sent shockwaves through the city’s West End and prompted a swift response from the emergency services yesterday.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Scottish Ambulance Service and Police Scotland all rushed to the scene in Whiteinch’s South Street on Tuesday afternoon after the explosion within the EMR premises.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent four engines to the scrapyard just after 3.30pm while the Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed that there were no injuries.

Police Scotland officers cordoned off part of South Street with one cop car stationed to redirect traffic away from the area as firefighters assessed the scene.

Our sister paper, The Evening Times, understands from eyewitness accounts that smoke shot up into the sky with an expansion foam released shortly after to stop it spreading.

The cause of the explosion has not been revealed but it is understood that EMR have not sustained damage to their depot infrastructure.

The sound could be heard across the city’s West End while shocked workers stopped what they were doing in the area’s busy industrial estate.

Mechanic Chris Grabowsky, of Marbella Autos on South Street, said: “We heard the explosion, and we walked out and saw 100 metres of smoke in the sky.

“After around a minute, a lot of expansion foam appeared in the sky.”

Another worker, who did not want to be named, said: “I was sitting in the office and I heard a big bang. I knew it was something pretty serious so I went outside to have a look.

“The sky was just black and then the firefighters were here within minutes.”

A worker, who was in a premises next to EMR, added: “There was a loud explosion and the whole building shook, but we just carried on working as normal.”

A spokesman for EMR said: “We are pleased to report that no injuries were sustained and there was no damage to the depot infrastructure.

“We would like to apologise to the local community and businesses for any inconvenience.”