At least eight people have been injured following an explosion and major fire at an industrial estate in Surrey, emergency services said.

The first alerts came in shortly before 11.30am about an explosion at Hobbs industrial estate, off Eastbourne Road, Newchapel, near East Grinstead, Surrey police said in a statement.

It added: "Surrey police, Surrey fire and rescue service, South East Coast ambulance service and Surrey air ambulance are all in attendance at the scene."

The ambulance service said eight people were being treated for injuries, although she had no information yet as to how serious these were. Two helicopter ambulances and six ambulances were sent to the scene.

The ambulance service had no information about widely circulated rumours that several people were missing.

The fire service said 10 fire engines attended the blaze at the industrial estate unit. The operation was made more complex by the likely presence of gas cylinders, she said.

An engineer working on the roof of the nearby London England Temple, a Mormon church, said he heard an initial explosion. "There was a massive, massive bang, a large bang, with a little after-bang but that was it," he told the Press Association, asking not to be named. "And then just a few minutes after, that's when smoke started to appear."

Footage shot by the local ITV news showed large plumes of smoke rising from the site.

The location is south of London, near the M23 and M25.