A HUGE fire demolished a carpet warehouse and caused traffic chaos to Bolton town centre during the rush hour last night.

Flames shooting through the roof of Derek's Carpets on Blackhorse Street could be spotted for miles around.

Buildings close by had to be evacuated and surrounding roads were closed for up to two hours.

Thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused by the blaze which struck shortly before 6pm. The entire carpet stock in the well known single storey warehouse, situated on the corner of Great Moor Street, was destroyed and the building itself was gutted.

Firemen were still fighting the fire this morning, with the blaze smouldering 16 hours after it started.

Building safety inspectors were also checking the extent of damage caused to the adjacent gable wall belonging to the Job Centre building, but it was expected to open as usual.

An investigation into the cause of the fire begins today. Police forensic experts were checking the premises and staff and management were being interviewed by detectives this afternoon. Station Officer Jim Marsden said: "The fire was well alight when we got there. The owner had just left and the premises were empty and had been made secure."

The fire spread quickly due to the foam backed carpets and the acrid fumes given off from the material forced firemen to wear breathing apparatus.

At the height of the fire four crews fought the blaze using three jets and an aerial platform.

Great Moor Street was shut for more than an hour and surrounding side streets for longer. Buses also had to be rerouted.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.