'Watching racing stadium burn felt like a lifetime'

Dave Coventry, who previously owned Mildenhall Stadium and is now its caretaker, says he does not know when the site will be reopened to the public

The caretaker of a speedway and motor sports stadium said watching it go up in flames "felt like a lifetime", and he admitted he had "no idea" when it could reopen to the public.

Firefighters from three counties were called to Mildenhall Stadium, in Suffolk, at about 17:31 BST on Tuesday.

The blaze inside a storage unit containing agricultural machinery had to be tackled by 16 appliances, as well as a water carrier from the nearby US air base of RAF Mildenhall.

After working through the night, crews managed to get the fire under control, but former owner-turned-caretaker Dave Coventry said parts of the stadium had been "devastated".

In total 16 appliances from Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridge were called to the fire, as well as a water carrier from RAF Mildenhall

Mr Coventry, who also lives on the site at West Row, said: "I was oblivious to the fact the building next to me was completely alight.

"Dust was circulating around, which is unusual, so I went out expecting to find an air conditioning unit playing up with the hot weather.

"I was then greeted with flames coming out of the barns and it was absolutely ablaze, so I called 999 and told them to send as many engines as they could.

"It seemed like a lifetime but in reality it took them about 15 or 20 minutes."

The stadium, which has been in operation since the 1970s, is famed for its stock car, greyhound and is home to the Mildenhall Fen Tigers speedway team.

Crews were sent from fire stations in Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Parts of Mildenhall Stadium have been completely destroyed

Mr Coventry said he was unsure when they would be able to welcome motor sports fans back.

"From what I can see the three barns, the lounge bar, the balcony, and the offices below have all gone, everything is on the floor and it’s ash and rubble," he said.

"We’ve got to wait for the dust to settle before we can even really know what damage has been done.

"It depends on whether the structure is safe. You can’t take people into a building if the roof is going to collapse on you within five minutes."

People living nearby were told to keep windows and doors closed due to smoke

Firefighters from Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridge were called to Mildenhall Stadium on Tuesday evening

Lee Wilkins, from the Suffolk Fire Service, said a cause was yet to be determined but no injuries had been reported.

He said: "The fire is under control now and we have scaled down the incident overnight so we are now just making sure everything is safe.

"There is quite significant damage to parts of the structure around the stadium but the crews did brilliantly and it was a real team effort.

"We will have professional fire investigators there this morning to determine cause."