'We lost everything in storage unit blaze'

The Cold Hands Warm Hearts charity kept all of its equipment in the unit

The co-founder of a charity which supports homeless people has told how the group has lost everything in a fire which broke out at a storage unit.

The blaze broke out at Storage World in Middleton, Rochdale, at about 17:00 BST on Wednesday.

The building is now set to be demolished on safety grounds, Greater Manchester Fire 7 Rescue Service said.

Jamie Lilley, co-founder of the Cold Hands Warm Hearts charity, said they stored all their equipment there including sleeping bags and warm clothing.

"Everything we own was in that storage unit," Mr Lilley told BBC Radio Manchester.

"It's been a difficult day - the only thing we've got left is our social media."

Cold Hands Warm Hearts co-founder Jamie Lilley said they hoped to be back out providing hot meals on Monday

He said equipment that was stored there also included meal replacement drinks, a gazebo and card readers.

Mr Lilley, who co-founded the charity with Daniel Goodier about five years ago, said they were not insured for the loss but a supporter had set up a fundraiser which had already reached £1,500.

He said they had been "astonished" by the offers of help they had received and they planned to be back out providing hot meals to homeless people on Monday.

Mr Lilley said: "We will be able to rebuild a lot faster than when we first started because we have got the customers, so to speak, to help us and the community there.

"We've had quite a lot of people messaging us to say they'll cook food for us or they'll lend us things."

The fire broke out on Wednesday

On Friday, assistant chief fire officer Barry Moore said: "The decision has now been taken alongside the building owners and partner agencies to gradually demolish the building so firefighters can safely access and extinguish the fire and bring this incident to a safe conclusion.

"Crews have been working incredibly hard for long hours in tough conditions to contain this complex fire and reduce any risk to the public."

He said the fire service wanted to express its sympathies to anyone who had lost valuables to the blaze.

There were no reports of any injuries.

A fundraising event which was due to have taken place at nearby Lodge Mill on Saturday had to be cancelled due to the road closures.

The event, known as Millstock, was to raise money for the upkeep of the building, which was damaged in a fire in 2021.