THESE dramatic pictures show how a serious fire gutted a row of shops in Kidderminster town centre.

Hundreds of people watched as about 70 firefighters battled the flames at shops in Market Street yesterday afternoon, as reported previously here.

The fire devastated Levines furniture store and the British Heart Foundation charity shop which were among shops in the 100m by 50m block.

Roads and pedestrian areas around the shops were closed to enable firefighters to douse the blaze.

Nearby shops, including Wilkinson and Iceland, were evacuated.

No one was thought to be injured as your Worcester News went to press.

West Mercia Police said they were alerted to the fire at the junction of Worcester Street and Market Street by an officer on patrol just after 1.15pm.

Bystander Sue Guest said: “I was driving along the Stourport Road and I saw the plume of smoke.

“When I got closer I could see it was the town centre. The heat was intense. There were explosions I think from TVs in the British Heart Foundation shop.

(Video courtesy of Cammy1568 on YouTube)

“There were implosions as things started to collapse. It was extremely hot and very dramatic.

“It was crammed with people all round there.

“There were hundreds of people watching in the library car park.

“Police were keeping people back and cordoning off so they couldn’t cross the road towards the street.”

A spokesman from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters were called just before 1.10pm and sent 10 fire engines, two with aerial platforms and a water carrier.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said ambulance crews were on scene but had no patients.

Inspector Paul Crumpton, of West Mercia Police, said: “This was a major fire in the centre of town but, thankfully, it appears no one has been injured.

“Police are working with fire officers at the scene and will continue to liaise as to the cause of the fire.”

Police closed junctions at New Road and the Worcester Road island as well as Market Street, Corporation Street and Green Street and Oxford Street.

The road closures and cordon were expected to remain in place last night.

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