A YORK scrapyard owner has pledged it will be business as usual tomorrow - despite counting the cost of a fire which ripped through more than 300 wrecked cars.

Bob Clancey, one of the owners at L Clancey and Sons, Murton, said it was difficult to say how it much would cost to make good the damage caused by the fire.

He said the yard would still open tomorrow, after the Easter break, but parts of it may have to be closed off.

He added: "If the wind had been blowing the wrong way we might have had problems with the other buildings."

Ten fire crews from across York and North Yorkshire including Easingwold, Huntington, Tadcaster and Harrogate, were called out to Saturday's blaze.

The initial call came from someone at the scrapyard, but North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue workers were also inundated with calls from people across the city who could see the smoke billowing above Murton.

Fire crews battled for hours against the blaze, and at one point they were using about 2,000 gallons of water a minute on the flames. The fire was then surrounded to prevent it from spreading.

When water ran out, crews had to use a nearby beck and call in the help of a local farmer.

Divisional Fire Officer Colin Chadfield said: "With water pressure in rural areas it is always difficult.

"We were using in the region of about 2,000 gallons of water a minute and the water mains are not designed to produce this.

"We were getting water from Osbaldwick Beck and made arrangements with a farmer to use water there all although we did not have to in the end."

The operation was scaled down at about 3.30pm on Saturday, but two crews were left overnight. By yesterday afternoon the scene was cleared.

Mr Chadfield said the cause of the blaze was not yet confirmed, but he thought it started after a car was crushed while still containing fuel.

Updated: 10:07 Monday, April 21, 2003