FIREFIGHTERS were called to an advertising board ablaze in the centre of Bury.

Smoke was seen billowing in Bury yesterday evening as a billboard burned, with fire crews describing the incident as a "spectacle".

The billboard fire at the junction of Walmersley Road, near to The Rock shopping centre, is believed by police to be an arson attack.

Fire crews from Bury, Whitefield and Heywood responded to the incident just after 7pm last night and were at the scene until around 8.30 dismantling the burning structure.

Roads were blocked as the emergency services dealt with the situation.

Bury fire station watch manager Steve Wilcock said: "It's the busiest junction in the whole of Bury, right at the bottom of Walmsley Road.

"We were there for quite a while because we had to pull it down. We had quite a lot of cutting away to do. It was an unsafe structure."

There were three fire engines and a specialist pulley system out at the scene to deal with the burning board.

The watch manager added: "There was a lot of smoke and some traffic disruption as we had to block a road off.

"It's a high profile location and people around thought it was coming from the old Bury Fire Station."

Police are now looking for CCTV footage in the area as they carry out their investigations.