A massive blaze has ripped through a Birmingham supermarket with orange flames and black clouds of smoke billowing into the sky - which still remains alight after 12 hours.
Around 80 firefighters and 12 appliances have been tackling the fire at the Zeenat Supermarket on Alum Rock Road, Saltley which spread to flats above the store.
The fire brigade has said that Thornton Primary School has been kept safe, although the school has announced that it will be closed to pupils on Tuesday.
Emergency service were called shortly after 6.30pm on Monday evening and police were forced to close the road due to the ferocity of the blaze.
One photo, taken by a resident in nearby Orion Close, showed a bright orange glow surrounded by a cloud of smoke as the incident unfolded.
Reinforcements were needed with five fire brigades tackling the blaze at its height and multiple roads were closed.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Fire Service said: "We have a number of fire engines in attendance. It is a large fire in a building in Alum Rock Road. We were called at 6.37pm. We are dealing with it."
Dramatic pictures and video continued to capture the thick black smoke billowing into the sky above.
Crews were seen trying to extinguish the inferno as crowds gathered around.
The fire service confirmed it was still dealing with a "large fire" just after 8pm and it gave regular updates throughout the night.
West Midlands Fire Service tweeted at 1am: “Firefighters remain at the scene of the Fire on Alum Rock Road, investigations are ongoing into the cause of the Fire. Please avoid the area and we ask local residents to keep their doors and windows closed, thank you for your support.”
And at 5am the fire service said it was still tackling "hotspots" at the scene.
It tweeted: "Work continues to extinguish hotspots at the incident on Alum Rock Road, Birmingham. The incident has now been scaled down to 4 fire engines to continue to apply water over night. Roads still remain closed, but plans are being put in place to reduce the number of road closures."
