Flats evacuated during fire

It took 66 firefighters to bring the blaze under control

Some 80 people had to leave their homes after fire broke out in industrial units in the centre of Great Yarmouth on Monday night.

Ten fire engines from Norfolk and Suffolk were called to the blaze in the three-storey units in Alma Road at 2100 BST.

It took 66 firefighters to fight the blaze, which was brought under control at 2250 BST.

Chris Boulton from Norfolk Fire Service said that the 150-year-old buildings had been used to store old furniture and furnishing fabric and that was why the fire took hold so quickly.

He said: "There were reports of some gas cylinders inside the building, but we managed to get them secured.

"We then had a problem with quite heavy smoke-logging to the flats...we had to evacuate about 50 people."

A structural engineer will inspect the badly-damaged buildings on Monday.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.