Fire rips through abandoned gym in Brierley Hill

Four crews from West Midlands Fire Service went out to the old two-storey gym on Thorns Road just after 1pm and spent several hours extinguishing it.

The fire, which started in a ground-floor store room was fully out by the evening but crews were set to revisit the scene to make the area safe.

No people were inside at the time and nobody was injured.

The blaze was said to have caused major damage to the property which has been empty and in a state of disrepair for several years.

A tweet by West Midlands Fire Service read: "At 13:04 crews were called to a fire in a disused gym on Thorns Road, Brierley Hill. After the first crews arrived in under three minutes, our four crews on the scene brought the fire under control and are working to extinguish it. No persons are reported involved."

An investigation will be launched into the cause.