St Albans: Firefighters tackle derelict building blaze

The road was closed between the Drakes Drive and Milehouse Lane junctions on London Road, St Albans while firefighters tackled the fire

About 20 firefighters have tackled a large fire in a derelict building.

Crews called to London Road, St Albans, just after 04:00 GMT, and found a large two-storey detached property "well alight", Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

Nobody was hurt and the fire was out by 06:45 with crews dampening down the scene until 08:00.

Hertfordshire Police said an investigation into the cause would take place.

The fire service said four engines from St Albans, Garston and Hatfield were sent to the scene, and firefighters used the main hoses to tackle the fire from multiple directions, including cutting into the loft space as the fire had spread to the roof.

It said it had handed the scene over to the police.

The road was closed between the Drakes Drive and Milehouse Lane junctions but it reopened.