NEIGHBOURS rallied together to push a van away from a huge blaze with their bare hands.

Tammy Anderson, 30, and two friends rushed into action after a yard, in Goodview Road, Basildon, went up in flames.

Firefighters were forced to use water from a disused swimming pool and close the A127 for five hours as flames tore through 15 cars and vans, several buildings and a caravan.

Miss Anderson said: “My 11- year-old daughter and 13-year-old niece came running in and said there was a fire.

“We ran outside and saw it was massive.

“We managed to move a couple of vehicles, but we couldn’t get the rest because the fire was so bad.

“But we had to push the van because there were no keys and it was too close.

“I did think about my safety, but I didn’t want the fire to spread to any of our homes.”

Miss Anderson dialled 999 after the blaze broke out on Monday evening.

She added: “We were trying to do everything we could.”

Neighbours moved their children to the house furthest away from the fire as dozens of firefighters battled to get it under control.

Speedy action by Essex Fire and Rescue Service stopped gas canisters on the site exploding.

It took four hours to put the fire out and a caravan and several outbuildings on the estate were destroyed. Incident commander, assistant divisional officer, Tony Clark, said: “The fire had broken out in a yard containing outbuildings, containers, vehicles and LPG cylinders.

“Several outbuildings, a caravan and approximately 15 cars and vans were on fire within the yard.

“Firefighters used foam to extinguish the vehicles on fire.

“Also in the yard were three bungalows and a brick-built storage shed. Firefighters did an excellent job in preventing the fire from spreading to these buildings.

“The crews also pumped water from a disused swimming pool on the site and the A127 was closed for at least five hours so hoses could be laid across the road to deliver water to the incident.”

Crews left the scene at 1.30am yesterday. A joint fire and police investigation has been launched to find the cause of the fire.