A furniture clearance store on a main road into Wolverhampton city centre was completely destroyed in a huge fire which was started by arsonists and threatened to take hold of two neighbouring shops.

At its height 75 firefighters and 15 engines were battling to bring the blaze, at Furniture Warehouse on the Peel Centre in Stafford Street, under control.

Flames ripped through the 80,000sq ft building from 12.30am, fuelled by tens of thousands of pounds worth of furniture including sofas and coffee tables. Their charred remains, sitting in the blackened shell of the store, were visible to drivers making their way into the city today.

Stafford Street was closed until 8am while firefighters damped down after the inferno. There were fears the fire could spread to JJB Sports and Harveys, on either side of the unit, but crews managed to save the stores. Both buildings suffered smoke damage while some stock at JJB was ruined by water hosed over the building.

Firefighters believe the blaze was started by arsonists.