THE blaze-ravaged McKechnie Jess meat factory in Greenock is being demolished.

A huge fire ripped through the Port Glasgow Road site in the early hours of Wednesday, leaving it all but destroyed.

Fire investigators were unable to access the blaze-ravaged building because it was so dangerous, and part of it had already caved in on itself.

Demolition teams were called in by the authorities, and work to flatten the factory is now under way.

Police have told motorists that the A8 is to remain partially closed ‘over the weekend’ as work continues.

Flames engulfed the site in the early hours of Wednesday and experts have been unable to set foot inside the premises due to safety fears.

More than 35 firefighters battled the blaze at its peak and it took 15 hours for the flames to be extinguished, with the adjacent A8 closed for 24 hour

Mark Gallacher, group manager with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and one of the officers in charge of the incident, said: “This was a significant and challenging fire and our crews worked tirelessly through the night in very difficult conditions.

“A total of six fire appliances were on the incident ground at one point as we tackled the incident on a number of different fronts.”

Group manager Gallacher added: “I want to thank Scottish Fire and Rescue Service personnel, Inverclyde Council, Police Scotland and other external partners who we worked closely with to bring this incident to a safe conclusion."