Crews tackle disused brewery fire

More than 100 firefighters spent the night tackling a severe blaze at a former brewery in Wolverhampton.

Fire crews were called to the Mitchells and Butlers building on Cambridge Street, Springfield, at around 2140 BST on Sunday.

A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said crews had struggled to gain access to the premises because much of it was structurally unsafe.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way.

Station Commander Mark Taylor from the fire service said: "Because of the nature of the building, because it is quite an old building surrounded by low level storage warehouses, it was quite difficult for us to get to."

A total of 23 appliances, including three hydraulic platforms from West Midlands and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, were at the scene.

Springfield bitter

Structural engineers were called in to assess the safety of the four-storey Grade II listed building.

Springfield Brewery is a well known landmark in Wolverhampton and was home to Mitchell & Butler's famous Springfield bitter until production was switched to other plants several years ago.

Since then much of the old brewery site has been disused but plans have recently been drawn up to revitalise the area.