A Willenhall tyre dealers has been destroyed in a blaze believed to have been started deliberately.

Bosses at Keatyres Ltd, based in Owen Road, are counting the cost following the fire last night which gutted the inside of the building.

Firefighters from Willenhall, Bilston, Walsall and West Bromwich battled for 90 minutes to bring the blaze under control.

Managing director Jamie Cheadle, aged 26, from Stourbridge, said the fire had been a devastating blow as the company had just secured two major contracts.

“The biggest blow is going to be the loss of the machinery,” he said. “We had a brand new tracking machine installed recently which we are trying to salvage.”

Owner Chris Dalloway said: “We have just secured a contract with a taxi company and Mid West Fleet Hire. This is a massive blow and we will be closed for a while at this unit but we have two other units which will be trading as normal.”

The company has a unit at Parkfield Road in Wolverhampton and one at the Woodside Industrial Estate in Pedmore Road, Dudley.

Rob Evans, crew commander at Willenhall Fire Station, said: “When we arrived we could see flames bursting through the front doors of the building.

“We are treating the cause of the fire as suspicious.”