Fire rips through seaside town after gas cylinders explode
A FIRE has ripped through the harbour of a seaside town overnight after gas cylinders exploded.
Police sealed off part of the luvvies paradise town of Southwold, Suffolk, this morning after residents were shaken from their beds by a massive explosion.
A fish and chip shop was destroyed, leaving the owners “completely heartbroken”.
Emergency services were called to the terrifying explosion in Blackshore Quay at 12.50am today.
Photos show large orange flames as plumes of smoke billowed across the sky.
One local tweeted: “Massive explosion followed by fire in Southwold Harbour.
Explosion shook the caravan.”
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service sent eight crews to the scene from across the county, including Lowestoft, Haverhill, Beccles, Halesworth, Woodbridge, Leiston and Wrentham.
In total, eight sheds, some containing lobster pots and other fishing gear, and two fish and chip shops were affected.
No casualties were reported.
Posting on Facebook, Mrs T’s Fish and Chip Shop said: “Not the news we wanted to get woken up to but unfortunately, Mrs T’s has been caught in a fire on the harbour early hours of this morning.
“We are completely heartbroken.
“We want to thank the Fire team for all their hard work throughout the night to put the blaze out.”We will keep everyone updated via our socials as soon as we know more.”
A spokesman for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said that a number of gas cylinders exploded and that fire had spread to a number of buildings due to their wooden construction.
“The incident is now over but Ferry Road will be closed off today as investigations get underway.”
The cause of the fire is not thought to be suspicious and an investigation will take place today to determine its origin.
The public is being asked to avoid the area.
The fashionable resort is nicknamed Chelsea-on-Sea because of all the celebrities who flock there for holidays, retreating to second homes away from London.
Chris Evans, David Tennant, Dame Judi Dench, Michael Palin, Griff Rhys-Jones and Stephen Fry are all regular visitors, and the late detective writer PD James, her friend Ruth Rendell, Butterflies actor Geoffrey Palmer and broadcaster Libby Purves all bought homes there.
The town has less than 2,000 residents in the winter but this swells to almost 10,000 in the summer, many of them star-struck trippers agog at the thought of glimpsing a celeb.
There’s even a ‘Southwolds Celebrity Tour’ where they can walk past homes of celebrities and visit the pubs and resuarants where the stars relax.
The walk starts at the 19th century pier on the beach, which was the setting for several Little Britain comedy show sketches in which Matt Lucas and David Walliams delighted locals with their ‘ladylike’ behaviour.
Some of the famous multi-coloured beach huts change hands for more than £100,000.
The town centre’s Orwell Bookshop commemorates one of Southwold’s most famous residents, George Orwell.
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