A warehouse full of boxed teddy bears went up in flames this morning.
Fire crews battled through barred windows and locked doors to save the building, on the Grainger Road industrial estate, Southend, at 3.15am today.
Southend station officer Daron Driscoll said: "Two appliances from Southend and one from Leigh attended the fire.
"It could have been a lot worse because the place was packed with cardboard boxes full of teddy bears. We broke a window to get in, only to find a steel grating.
"A door was locked inside so a considerable amount of effort went on to get in, but we contained the fire to the ground floor."
The fire was stopped before it reached more than a quarter of the toys, but fire crews believe the entire stock was damaged as smoke seeped through to the first floor.
The fire is not thought to be suspicious.
The owner of the damaged stock is yet to be told of the blaze.
Published Wednesday, February 5, 2003
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