The swift actions of firefighters and a shop owner prevented a fire from destroying thousands of pounds worth of scooters.

Danny Millard was working on a bike in a workshop attached to the back of Kendall and Pitt Scooters, in Barrack Street, when the machine caught light at about 11.40am today.

He tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, but the blaze took hold.

Mr Millard, who owns the shop, shut the fire door between the workshop and showroom and evacuated the building.

A crew of firefighters from Colchester were on the scene within minutes, and they managed to stop the blaze from spreading.

Station officer Joe Hassell said: "The owner was very quick to call us and immediately closed the door between the two rooms, which stopped the fire going through.

"The workshop was well alight when we arrived, and firefighters did an excellent job and managed to contain the fire from spreading any further."

Six bikes were destroyed in the fire.

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