The Colthrop Lane fire was accidental and started with a battery, the fire service says. Crews spent 25 hours on 150 tonnes of batteries and left on Wednesday.

The fire that burned about 150 tonnes of batteries at a Colthrop Lane recycling centre in Thatcham was accidental. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service says the cause “has been recorded as accidental, with the origin of the fire being a battery”.

Updated 1 October: the fire service has published the cause, and its crews left the site on Wednesday 30 September. Details below.

The blaze broke out on Monday evening, 28 September, and stopped trains through the town for more than three hours.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service says it received reports of the fire at 7.38pm. On arrival, crews found “a large fire in a recycling centre involving approximately 150 tonnes of assorted batteries”.

Its incident page does not mention any injuries.

Where things stand now

The fire service’s update at 1.50pm on Wednesday says:

  • crews were at the scene for about 25 hours, then went back twice to check the building for hotspots
  • after a reinspection on Wednesday morning, they have now left
  • the scene has been handed to the site manager and the Environment Agency
  • the recovery phase is led by the local authority, with partner agencies supporting it

In the service’s words, “local roads and businesses are open as normal”.

The service also says that early on, people were advised to avoid the area and keep windows and doors closed. That was a precaution against the smoke. The response involved the UK Health Security Agency, the council, the police and the Environment Agency.

Trains are running normally. National Rail’s incident record shows the lines reopened at 12.09am on Tuesday, with “normal service between Reading and Newbury”.

The trains

National Rail logged the disruption at 8.35pm on Monday, describing it as “a fire next to the track at Thatcham”. The Colthrop estate sits beside the Reading to Newbury line, east of Thatcham station.

The record lists Great Western Railway as the only operator affected. The routes it names are:

  • London Paddington to Newbury, Bedwyn, Plymouth and Penzance
  • Reading to Newbury and Bedwyn

The incident was marked as cleared at 12.09am, about three and a half hours after it was logged.

How big the response was

The fire service sent crews from eight Berkshire stations:

  • Wokingham Road (Reading)
  • Newbury
  • Hungerford
  • Mortimer
  • Ascot
  • Slough
  • Langley
  • Theale

Four officers went with them. The service also sent three specialist vehicles:

  • the “Zetros” water carrier from Bracknell
  • an incident command unit from Maidenhead
  • the aerial ladder platform from Whitley Wood

Crews from three neighbouring services were sent as well: Oxfordshire, Dorset and Wiltshire, and Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

Firefighters used hose reel jets, a light portable pump, the water carrier and the aerial ladder platform to fight the fire, the service says.

Timeline of the Thatcham battery fire. Monday 28 September, 7.38pm: fire service called to Colthrop Lane, about 150 tonnes of batteries alight at a recycling centre. 8.35pm: railway disruption logged at Thatcham, GWR services between Reading and Newbury or Bedwyn affected. Tuesday 12.09am: lines reopened, normal service between Reading and Newbury. Tuesday morning: crews scaled back but likely there all day, nearby roads and businesses open. Eight Berkshire fire stations, four officers and three neighbouring fire services were sent.
How Monday night unfolded, from the fire service's incident page and National Rail's record. Graphic by The Newbury Times
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What it means for you

  • Travelling today: trains through Thatcham are running normally, and the fire service says nearby roads and businesses are open. Fire crews have left Colthrop Lane. Our roadworks and travel page has the other closures around the district this week.
  • If your train was cancelled or delayed on Monday night: GWR runs a Delay Repay scheme for journeys that arrive late or do not run.
  • Working on the Colthrop estate: the fire service says businesses nearby are open as normal.

The site is now with its manager and the Environment Agency. We will update this page if West Berkshire Council or the Environment Agency publishes anything on the recovery.

Sources

  • Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Fire in Thatcham, incident page, updated 1.50pm Wednesday 30 September 2026: the cause, the 25 hours on scene, the handover, the precautionary smoke advice, the call time, the fire, the stations, officers, vehicles and neighbouring services sent, the equipment used, and the latest position on roads and businesses. The page’s text dates the call to “Monday, 29 September”. Monday was the 28th, and both the page’s own publication stamp and National Rail’s record put the fire on Monday 28 September.
  • National Rail, Incident: Thatcham: the times the disruption was reported and cleared, the operator and the routes affected.