AN INVESTIGATION is under way into a huge blaze which tore through a derelict Suffolk school.

Ten crews attended the closed Castle Hill Middle School in Haverhill late last night.

The whole building, which had gas canisters in it, was engulfed in flames.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service received multiple calls from members of the public who spotted the fire around 9.50pm.

No one is believed to have been in the building and there were no reports of any casualties.

Crews from Haverhill, Ixworth, Bury St Edmunds and Long Melford attended, aided by crews from Cambridgeshire and Essex. Two turntable ladders were also in attendance because of the size of the building.

Police cordoned off the area and advised residents to stay inside and keep their windows closed due to the amount of smoke involved.

In April this year fire crews were called to the school to battle a small blaze in the gym area which was understood to have been started deliberately.

It is not yet known if there are suspicious circumstances surrounding this latest fire.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said: “Householders in the immediate vicinity were advised to stay indoors and to close doors and windows.”

The school closed in July last year after being part of the community for nearly 40 years.

The closure was part of Suffolk County Council’s shake-up of the local education system – moving from a three to a two tier system.

The school was in special measures for two and a half years around 12 years ago. It came out of them in February 2002.