Firefighters spent more than two hours tackling a “deep-seated” fire, which broke out in an Essex warehouse.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service was called to reports of a blaze in Blackwell Drive, Braintree, at just after 1am this morning.

Crews from Witham, Dunmow and two from Braintree arrived to find an industrial unit was “heavily smoke logged”.

Watch Manager Steve Wintrip said: “Our crews worked quickly when faced with a large amount of smoke and a developing fire. They used thermal imaging cameras to identify the locate the source of the smoke.

“They were then able to target their firefighting efforts to a deep-seated fire which had started in a van, and stop it spreading to adjoining compartments within the building.

“The fire had been burning for some time before we had been alerted to it, but as all internal doors within the building had been closed the fire had been contained to the area where it started.

“Closing all internal doors when you leave a room, whether you’re at a business or at home, is always the right thing to do - it’s an easy precautionary measure to slow down a fire spreading.”

The fire was out and the building cleared of smoke by 3.20am.

The compartment where the fire started suffered fire and heat damage, and adjoining compartments suffered some smoke damage.

A final investigation will take place today, but it is thought the cause of the fire was accidental.