Firefighters have been tackling a huge blaze in an Essex seaside town which forced people to evacuate their homes.
An image from the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service shows how flames engulfed the building on West Avenue, Clacton-on-Sea, in the early hours of Monday.
A second photograph taken after the blaze was extinguished shows how the fire almost completely gutted the building and destroyed a vehicle parked outside.
There have been no reports of any injuries and the fire service said the cause of the blaze will be investigated when it is “safe to do so”.
The building housed the Codgers of Clacton furniture store and the Easy Mobility Services office.
John Jacobs, operations support lead at Easy Mobility Services, told Sky News the premises has been “completely gutted”.
He added: “All we know is it happened overnight, we understand the whole block is going to be condemned, it will need to come down as far as we know.”
Mr Jacobs continued: “We’re disappointed for our customers. We have a very big customer base in the Clacton area, most of whom are disabled and have mobility issues, so our focus right now is to make sure we continue to meet their requirements and serve them.”
A spokeswoman from Easy Mobility Services said the fire did not start in its premises.
Essex fire service’s incident commander Nick Singleton said nearby Jackson Road, Penfold Road and Agate Road were all shut as firefighters tackled the blaze through the night.
People living nearby the blaze were evacuated from their homes, while other residents were told to keep their windows and doors closed due to the smoke.
Tendring District Council set up a refuge centre for those who were displaced.
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Mr Singleton later posted an update at 7am on Monday morning to say the fire had been extinguished.
He added crews will remain at the scene to “monitor and dampen down any hotspots”.
He continued: “I’d like to say a big thank you to the crews who worked extremely hard to stop the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. As well as a thank you to our emergency services partners for their help, the Premier Inn for providing a refuge centre and local residents for being patient with us while we deal with the incident.”
