BETTER regulations are needed to protect public health following two large fires, a councillor has said.

Firefighters were called to tackle a large blaze at Deeside Industrial Estate on May 28.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service told the Leader a call came in shortly after 5.30pm on Thursday reporting the incident, on Deeside Industrial Estate.

Crews from Deeside, Flint, Mold, Holywell, St Asaph, Corwen, the Environmental Protection Unit from Wrexham and a crew from Chester attended the fire involving a large quantity of cardboard and plastic at a recycling centre.

Crews left the scene at 2.30am on Friday morning when the fire had been extinguished, however one crew from Deeside remained on site on Friday morning for an inspection.

Connah's Quay councillor Bernie Attridge said: "The smoke was very visible from my house. There were lots of concerns locally when North Wales Fire and Rescue Service asked people to close windows and stay inside.

"It concerns me greatly after the fire at Hafod Wrexham and then this one a few hours later. I believe better regulations are needed to protect the public health of residents."

One resident, who did not wish to be names, said she was concerned as there had been 'two very large fires in two days' which is 'not needed in the current crisis and warm weather'.

Shotton councillor Mike Evans said you could not miss the black smoke blowing down the river and the smoke 'could be seen for miles'.

In a tweet on Thursday evening, the fire service urged motorists to avoid the Deeside Industrial Estate and asked residents in Connah's Quay and Flint to keep their windows and doors closed.

Aston councillor Helen Brown told the Leader the smoke could clearly be seen from her ward.

She added: “It’s really thick, black smoke and it looks like it is drifting.”

This came after fire crews tackled a large fire at the Johnstown Landfill site on Wednesday evening.

Fire crews from Johnstown, Wrexham, Llangollen, Ellesmere, Chirk and Llangollen, together with an incident command unit, were mobilised to Hafod Quarry landfill in Johnstown at 7.12pm Wednesday.

Residents living in and around the area of Bangor Road, Johnstown, were advised to keep all windows and doors closed due to toxic fumes as firefighters tackled the fire.

This led to residents calling for action to be taken to better improve health and safety for those living in the area.

Mark Silvester, Chief Executive of Enovert who runs the site, said: “We understand the concerns of residents and apologise for this incident. Our priority is always to run a safe and compliant site with minimal disruption to the local community.

"We are continuing work on site with the North Wales Fire & Rescue Service to bring the incident to a close as quickly possible."