A barn and greenhouse were destroyed in a blaze at a garden centre.

Four fire engines were called to Poplar Nurseries, Coggeshall Road, Marks Tey, at 1pm on Tuesday.

Station officer Lee Neale, of Colchester brigade, said: "At one point we thought there were chemicals involved but it turned out there weren't any."

The fire started in a 30m by 15m storage barn full of machinery, garden furniture, weedkiller and fertiliser.

Mr Neale said: "There were some chemicals in there but we managed to keep the fire away from them."

Stewart Burle, the business's accountant, praised the brigade and said it was business as usual today.

"It is certainly not the best Christmas we can have but we will get over it," he said.

He added: "We believe it was caused by an electrical fault."

The flames spread to an unused greenhouse and posed a threat to other buildings.

Mr Neale said: "The fire had gone through the roof when we got there. It was fortunate it was not particularly windy otherwise it may have spread."

Firefighters put out the blaze in half an hour but remained on site damping down for most of the afternoon.

Mr Neale said: "It was certainly an accident. It is not being treated as suspicious."

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