Fire at Peterlee's South West Industrial Estate 'being treated as suspicious' by Durham Constabulary

Eleven appliances attended the fire, which is at two adjoining units at Peterlee's South West industrial Estate and began at around 4.30am on Monday.

Fifty firefighters tackled the blaze at its height, with Durham Constabulary also called to the scene to assist with traffic management in the area.

The force confirmed that the fire is currently being treated as suspicious. An investigation will start in due course.

CDDFRS Group Manager Rob Cherrie added: "Three crews continue to fight the fire which is now contained and we have scaled back our resources at the scene.

“I would like to thank our crews and the firefighters from our neighbouring services for a swift and professional response in difficult circumstances."

Crews will stay on scene throughout Monday.