Fire at derelict Royal Doulton pottery factory

The fire started on the third floor of the building

More than 25 firefighters are tackling a fire at a former pottery factory in Stoke-on-Trent.

The blaze at the derelict Royal Doulton building in Nile Street, Burslem, started on the third floor at about 15:15 BST, the fire service said.

It said no-one had been injured and it was too early to say what caused the fire. The building was badly damaged and was unsafe to go inside, it said.

Nile Street had been closed and traffic was being diverted, police said.

Plans to demolish the factory and build houses on the site were shelved in 2012

Dale Harrison, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue service, said that it had dealt with a fire at the factory in October.

"Our crews have been called to numerous fires at this location and we're now going to push to have it demolished or made safe," he said.

Plans by developers St Modwen to knock the factory down and build 140 houses on the site were put on hold in 2012 after it failed to do a deal with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.