One of Britain’s oldest former tobacco factories has been destroyed by fire - caused from a discarded cigarette.
The fire broke out on Monday on the site of the former Player’s factory in Nottingham which has been converted into student flats.
Dozens of residents and university students were evacuated and re-homed for the night as more than 60 firefighters tackled the blaze.
Fire investigators believe the blaze, which engulfed the building, may have been started from a cigarette.
High winds swept smoke into the city and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs reported a sharp rise in air pollution.
Building manager Rebecca Snow, who was at the site when it caught fire, said there was speculation the blaze could have been started by a cigarette in one of the bedrooms.
She said: “It’s just an assumption. I think there will be an investigation where we will find out what happened.
“We could see a room number where it was coming from.
“When I entered the corridor I could smell the smoke. I opened one of the doors and there was black and yellow smoke all over the room.
“At that moment I called my supervisors and the fire service. I think everyone was here in about five minutes.
“I was terrified - I had never seen anything like it before. Firefighters sealed the street off and we were waiting to see what was going on.”
There were still nine fire engines at the scene battling to put out flames on the second and third floors.
A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are using three aerial platforms, three ground monitors, a high volume pump and cover jet.
“We are currently in offensive mode.”
Incident Commander David Stevenson added: “We suspect there is significant damage to the occupied part of the building.
“We evacuated the terrace houses directly in front of the property and tenants.
“We have structural engineers nearby - there’s always a risk when dealing with severe fire damage on the inside of the building of collapse.”