Staff are conducting a full investigation after an “explosion” at a Suffolk scrapyard shook the site – leaving infrastructure damaged.

The incident, which happened at roughly 11.30am today at Sackers recycling site in Great Blakenham, affected multiple buildings in the Claydon Business Park and prompted complaints from nearby residents who claimed their property had been damaged by the force of the blast.

A spokesperson for Sackers said the team was conducting a comprehensive investigation into the incident – but it was believed to be caused by a fault with the machinery on site.

He said: “A full investigation is ongoing. It would have been an object in the scrap metal intake that went through the machine – we can’t pinpoint as to where it was.”

The spokesperson added that the company was in conversation with nearby businesses and residents whose property may have been damaged by the explosion.

“We would like to apologise to our near neighbours,” he said. “We are investigating damage to nearby properties.”

While Sackers did suffer some minor damage to its infrastructure, the spokesperson confirmed this was “not enough to stop operations”. Staff were not evacuated and neither police nor the fire service were required on site.

He added that, while the company has inspection procedures in place and fully complies with Environment Agency rules, this was an example of “an unfortunate incident that happens in the waste industry”.

Aaron Willis, who works for logistics company Unsworth at the business park nearby, said: “We were sitting at our desks and there was a massive explosion. It blew the panels off on the back of our building.

“We went out the front to see what had gone on and there was lots of smoke and dust.

“It was one hell of a bang. I thought someone had crashed into our wall.”

A spokesperson for Unsworth reported that part of the building’s ceiling was damaged, and the walls were “a bit wobbly” following the blast.

A representative for the courier service FedEx also reported a damaged light, and added that her colleague had seen smoke after the explosion. There were no reports of any employees injured.