A blaze has “substantially damaged” a town centre restaurant in Ipswich today.

Eight fire engines rushed to the scene of the blaze at The Townhouse Restaurant in Orwell Place at 9.45am following reports of a kitchen fire.

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It is thought two chefs raised the alarm after the kitchen filled with smoke. No injuries were reported at the scene.

Dave Pedersen, group commander at Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, said the blaze had “substantially damaged” the venue.

He added an investigation will be launched today after the fire was brought under control by 11.15am.

He said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident, adding police are not likely to be involved in the investigation.

Police officers at the scene have set up cordons, diverting traffic from Tacket Street in to Foundation Street while the entrance from Upper Orwell Street to Orwell Place was also blocked off to allow firefighters to carry out an investigation.

Eye-witness Glenn Makin, 32, said firefighters brought the fire under control within 20 minutes of arriving on scene.

“It is not nice to see any building go up in flames,” he said.

“But the firefighters got here pretty quick and put the fire out within about 20 minutes. They have done very well and deserve some praise. Let’s hope the restaurant gets back up and running as soon as possible.”