Fire investigators are looking into the cause of a fire which destroyed an indoor karting centre and prompted phone calls from up to 15 miles away.

The fire at The Raceway in Heath Street, on the border of Smethwick and Winson Green, sent a huge pall of smoke into the air.

It was so big that concerned air traffic controllers at Birmingham International Airport were among dozens who made 999 calls to West Midlands Fire Control as up to 150 firefighters from across the region raced to the scene.

Flames fuelled by piles of tyres and petrol containers ripped through the roof of the centre.

The Raceway has sites in Smethwick and Bristol. It only opened in Heath Street, site of the former GKN works, three weeks ago having relocated from Kenrick Way, West Bromwich.

Managing director Adam Batchelor, aged 41, who is based in Bristol, said the fire had cost in excess of £350,000.

He said: "It has all been destroyed, there is nothing left at all. I have just spent £200,000 on the building and have moved £150,000 worth of equipment in. We employ between 35 and 40 people and we are recruiting at the moment. Now we will have to decide whether to rebuild here or to find another site.

"There are two tracks inside and this is the third biggest track in the country. It was pretty special. It's all gone I feel very depressed about it. It is sickening. At least no one was inside. We will try to start to progress today, but I don't know how far we will get." General manager Len Swan said: "There is nothing left, everything has been destroyed.

"I had a call from my deputy to tell me there had been a fire but there is no point in coming to see it because the building was all gone."

Firefighters were alerted at about 8.20 pm on Sunday night and the fierce blaze took more than three hours to bring under control. Crews were back at the scene yesterday morning damping down.

West Midlands Fire Service Divisional Officer Andy Grosvenor said: "It was a massive fire and we had crews at the scene from across the West Midlands.

"We had dozens of calls about the incident and there were even concerns from air traffic controllers at Birmingham International Airport for the safety of aircraft. We do not yet know how the blaze started."