Fire rips through warehouse

A warehouse full of stock for one of Wolverhampton's most popular discount stores has been destroyed in a devastating fire.

The Untouchables factory in Cross St North, just yards away from the 25-year-old shop, went up in flames at 10.30pm last night. Fire crews battled through the night to put it out and at its height, 40 firefighters were tackling it.

Today the blaze was being treated as arson and investigations were centring on a large propane cylinder found at the back of the building. The contents of the warehouse, which was full of DIY items including paint, varnishes and wallpaper, were destroyed and only the charred shell of the building remained today.

Manager Jackie Harris said: "We have been up all night. It's too early to tell how the store will be affected."

The roof of T&S Glass,based next door, was also badly damaged. This morning at least 10 firefighters were damping down and Cross Street North remained sealed off.