A LARGE fire which closed off the centre of a West Somerset village in the early hours of Saturday (August 23) was put out by fire crews from eight stations across Somerset.

The blaze started shortly after 4 am in a terrace of shops and flats in High Street, Cannington, and saw local roads closed off to allow safe access for the emergency services.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue (DSFR) issued a warning via social media for people to avoid the area while the firefighting operation was ongoing.

The fire broke out in a mid-terrace residential flat above a brick and tiles-built shop measuring 262 feet by 50 feet.

The first fire crews to arrive on scene reported the roof space of the building was ‘well alight’.

They immediately called for help from two more fire engines and the incident was escalated with DSFR mobilising multiple resources.

All of the people living in the property were confirmed as having been safely evacuated.

The shop roof was completely destroyed by the fire and the first floor flat was described by DSFR as being 50 per cent damaged by fire and the whole of it damaged by smoke.

Smoke and water also caused the whole of the ground floor shop premises to be damaged, while it also suffered some fire damage.

Firefighters attended from the Nether Stowey and Williton stations, as well as Taunton, Bridgwater, Burnham On Sea, Street, Yeovil, and Martock.

The fire crews used eight sets of breathing apparatus, two hose reel jets, a safety jet, an aerial ladder, an ejector pump, and other ladders and small tools to fight the blaze.

They isolated utility services to the property and checked for hotspots with a thermal imaging camera.

DSFR has not yet given any cause for how the fire started.

This report updates an earlier Free Press news article on the incident.