Firefighters rush to flat blaze in St Albans

Fire engines rushed to a blaze in a St Albans flat this afternoon.

The fire, which was in a ground floor flat on Hawkshill off Dellfield, started at about 1.35pm.

Two firefighting crews from St Albans, one from Harpenden, and one from Hatfield were called to extinguish the flames.

Herts Fire and Rescue Service believe there is no-one seriously injured and everyone is accounted for.

As per standard procedure, all residents of the block are being advised to stay in their flats.

Although the fire is now out, firefighters are still establishing what happened and making the area safe.

A nearby resident, Liam Taylor, believes it was caused by a barbecue inside the property - but that has not been confirmed.

He said: "I saw the firefighters all running around, pulling the hoses, breaking into the ground floor flat, but they couldn't find the fire.

"At first it was only me, my auntie and grandad, then lots of people from the street and bus stopped and watched."

This comes after fire devastated two properties in St Albans in the last month, at The Plough Sleapshyde and The Camp Fish and Chips.

More on this as the story develops.