A DRY cleaners in Stanway has suffered “significant damage” after a serious fire at its premises overnight.

Firefighters from Colchester and Grays were called to Smart Dry Cleaning, in Blackberry Road, at 10.49pm on Tuesday.

They managed to quickly put out the fire and stop it spreading to other businesses and homes in the adjoining parade of shops.

Pictures show extensive damage to the business with burnt out rails and shelving.

Firefighters says the flat above has been slightly affected by the smoke.

An investigation found the fire was caused accidentally by an internal gas meter igniting.

Stanway councillor Jeremy Hogan was relieved to hear firefighters were able to extinguish the fire promptly.

He said: “I want to thank the emergency service for their prompt action.

“They made sure that everyone affected by this terrible incident was taken care of.

“Their work is keeping everyone safe and they were ensuring that the fire did not spread further.

“We can be thankful that no one was injured.”

A spokesman for the fire service said: “Fire crews managed to extinguished the fire very quickly and stop it spreading to the adjoined businesses and flats in the terrace.

“The building and contents of the dry cleaners has suffered significant damage, and the flat above was slightly affected by the smoke.

“The cause of the fire was found to be accidental, due to the internal gas metre igniting.”

The Gazette attempted to contact Smart Dry Cleaning but did not receive a response.