Stoke-on-Trent: Firefighters remain at Twyford blaze site

Firefighters remain at the site of a large fire at a former factory in Stoke-on-Trent.

About 20 crew members were at the site on Saturday morning tackling remaining pockets of fire at the back of the building.

BBC reporter Phil Bowers said a number of businesses rented units in the building and they had been "gutted" by the blaze.

The fire, at the Twyford building in Etruria, started on Friday afternoon.

A Staffordshire Fire and Rescue spokesman said a fire investigation officer and scenes of crime police officers were also at the scene and added fire crews were likely to be on site for the rest of Saturday.

Firefighters tackle the remaining fire pockets at the Twyford building

At its height, 80 firefighters and 10 appliances were in attendance and some train services were delayed as the fire is next to a railway line.

BBC reporter Laura McMullen said fire officers were finding it difficult to get into the site as there was a potential risk of part of the building collapsing.

"Some of the nearby businesses are unable to open and may not be able to open until after the weekend," she said.

Mark Mason who had a photography studio at the site said he was "gutted".

"It's like my livelihood has gone and my partner's, her business is there as well, it's like both our main incomes have gone, just gone," he said.

He said they had been alerted by another business owner to the fire on Friday but had not been able to get in, so had come down again on Saturday.

He added it would cost up to to £15,000 to buy all his equipment again.

The building is the former Twyford bathroom furniture building.