Fire crew battle big blaze on Ford industrial estate

The incident took place at the Rudford Industrial Estate earlier this morning, shortly before 8.40am.

Officers from across Littlehampton, Arundel and Bognor were called to the LMD Auto Repairs, along with a breathing apparatus support unit, rushed to tackle the blaze, which saw flames shooting high into the sky.

Kelly Wickham, who works in the nearby Transvac Systems, witnessed the inferno.

She said: “My colleague, Andy, and I walked along the estate to have a look. As we approached we saw the flames were larger than we anticipated we decided to head back as we were a bit worried due to it arising in a garage – we didn’t want to get too close in case it blew up.

“We then saw the two fire engines approaching and within a few minutes the flames died down.”

Firefighters, wearing breathing apparatuses, used two high-pressure water jets and a ladder in the battle to quell the flames.

They also used a water hydrant and a fan to eventually clear the building of smoke.

Officers were there for almost two hours extinguishing the fire. So far, an investigation into the blaze is underway and is yet to be formally concluded.

However, early results suggest that the fire was sparked accidentally and that there was no deliberate ignition, a spokeswoman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue said.

Nobody is reported to have been injured in the incident.

Fire crews left the scene at 10.21am.

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