A CLOTHING store was "totally destroyed" by a fire last night, with firefighters praised for preventing the spread of the blaze to surrounding buildings.

The fire broke out at Peacocks clothing store in Blanford Street, Sunderland, at about 7.15pm on Wednesday.

Six appliances and two aerial ladder platforms were at the scene as dozens of firefighter battled to contain the flames.

Flames burst through the roof of the building and smoke filled the sky, as firefighters warned those nearby to keep their windows closed.

This morning two appliances remained at the scene, which has been cordoned off as investigations into the cause of the fire are carried out.

Tyne and Fire and Rescue Service Head of service delivery, Steve Burdis said: “At about 7.20pm last night we received a call saying there was a building fire in Blandford Street, in Sunderland.

“It turned out to be a fire at Peacocks store. “We immediately dispatched two appliances ­­­– one from Sunderland and one from Farringdon.

“On arrival we realised this was quite a developed fire and up to four appliances were soon on the scene. We put in place an immediate plan to stop the spread of the build from the store.”

He added: “They started by attacking the fire through the first floor window using hosereel jets. As the fire developed we had six appliances on she scene including two aerial ladder platforms.

“At its height, we would have had about 26 firefighters in attendance, as well as three officers and a tactical adviser on the building.”

Mr Burdis said firefighters had been successful in preventing the spread of the fire, but the Peacocks is “totally destroyed”.

He said: “At moment Blandford Street is cordoned off. We appreciate this does have an impact on the local community and businesses, but it is for their safety that we have this in place.

“We have other partner agencies, including the gas board and power company, to isolate the supplies.”

He added: “I would like to praise the local community and shops, Greggs and the Salvation Army assisted greatly in ensuring the firefighters were well fed and watered throughout the night.

“And I would like to thank the local community who heeded our social media messages to keep their windows shut and stayed away from the areas.

“I commend the actions of officers and crews who put a plan in place to mitigate the damager to any further buildings and the area itself.

“Blandford Street will be closed for most of the day or even longer, while we carry out our fire investigation and await building engineers to assess the state of the building.”