Probe into old fire station blaze

An investigation is under way into the cause of the fire in Ottery St Mary

An investigation is under way into a fire which started at an old fire station and spread to a neighbouring pub in east Devon.

Buildings near to the property in Batts Lane, Ottery St Mary, were evacuated after fire crews were alerted shortly after 0600 BST.

At one point, 40 firefighters tackled flames at the storage building, which is attached to the Kings Arms pub.

A woman was treated at the scene for the effects of smoke inhalation.

The gable end of the building and the roof collapsed in the fire, which led to a building inspector from East Devon District Council being called out to assess the stability of the structure.

'Crackling sound'

An engineer from Western Power was also called out to isolate the electricity supply to the property.

Mark Blackstone, a personal trainer who lives around the corner from the old fire station, spotted the fire and helped move out nearby residents.

Nearby properties were evacuated after the fire broke out

"I was exercising before work and could hear a crackling sound," he said.

"At first I thought it was fireworks going off but I had a walk down the road and could see the building on fire.

"It was really aggressive, huge flames were shooting up out of the roof and the heat was incredible.

"Together with some street cleaners, we ran down the road knocking on people's doors to get them out of their homes and phoned the fire service."