A FIRE that broke out in a city tower block's bin store this morning left many residents frightened, according to a councillor.

Crews from Worcester, Malvern and Droitwich were sent to the blaze in St Clement's Close, St John's, Worcester, at around 4.15am today.

The first firefighters arrived at 4.19am and the final crew left at 7.40am, after the blaze had been extinguished.

Fortis Living said robust fire precautions stopped the flames from spreading beyond the bin store.

City councillor Richard Udall, who represents St John’s, said: “This was clearly a very serious situation and frightening for many residents. 

“I on their behalf would like to thank the fire service for a prompt response and one which clearly prevented further damage.

“It is far too early to determine the cause of the fire, but I will be asking the owners of the flats, Fortis Living, to investigate what could be done to provide more security to prevent illegal or unauthorised access to the bin storage area. 

“We need to learn any lessons from such incidents to ensure that to the best of our ability they can be avoided in the future.”

Sue Heelas, an assistant director at Fortis Living, said: “A fire broke out in the bin store at Cripplegate House.

"Fortunately, due to the robust fire precautions, including fire doors and alarms, the fire was contained to the bin store and no damage occurred in the rest of the building.

"We don’t know what started the fire and we wouldn’t want to speculate on this.

"Replacement bins have already been ordered and we have contacted residents regarding temporary arrangements.”