Huge emergency response to blaze inside building

FIRE caused severe damage to buildings in a row of shops on a major Newcastle road.

- OWEN YOUNGER

The blaze promoted a huge emergency response on Tuesday evening.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service firefighters and Northumbria Police officers were called following the outbreak of the fire, in the upper part of a building on Chillingham Road in Heaton.

The incident was reported at about 6.15pm on Tuesday and firefighters using an aerial ladder platform and a hose to tackle the blaze, with the road being blocked off between Simonside Terrace and Rothbury Terrace.

Five fire engines were sent from stations across Newcastle, as well as Gateshead and South Shields, and quickly arrived to tackle the flames.