MORE than 50 firefighters tackled a blaze at a garage beside the A140 tonight.

MORE than 50 firefighters tackled a blaze at a garage beside the A140 tonight.

Crews were called to the Mendlesham Group Fuels (MGF) garage at Brockford, near Eye, shortly before 7pm.

They found a fire in the garage's loft space and worked to stop it spreading to the adjoining filling station.

The turntable ladder was used to put out the flames while eight firefighters wearing breathing apparatus helped bring the incident under control.

No-one was hurt, although there was significant damage caused to the building.

Police closed a stretch of the A140 between the A143 junction and the Brockford Road junction and diverted traffic as the operation got underway.

Crews from Eye and Debenham were immediately mobilised after the 999 calls and engines from Stowmarket and Needham Market followed shortly afterwards.

A turntable ladder was requested from Bury St Edmunds, as well as a water carrier from Framlingham and further support vehicles from Elmswell, Diss and Colchester Road in Ipswich,

Brockford resident Paul Oats, who lives a short distance from the garage, was alerted to the blaze when he heard sirens.

He said: “I work at West Suffolk Hospital so when I heard the sirens I came out to see if it was something I might be able to help with. Then I saw the smoke coming from the garage.

“It was a very good response from the fire brigade. I think they were quite cautious because obviously they didn't know if anyone was still inside.

“You can really see the benefit of the turntable ladder because they are able to target the flames.”

A spokesman for Suffolk Fire Service last night said a joint investigation with police would begin tomorrow morning.