Bosses at a Colchester garage were today counting the cost of a fire in one of its workshops.

Two cars were left burnt out and extensive smoke damage caused to the inside of a building used for body work repairs at the Dovercourt Motor Company in Barrack Street.

Fire crews from Colchester and Wivenhoe were called to the blaze at 4pm yesterday .

Workers evacuated the workshop, and neighbouring buildings on the site. No-one was hurt in the blaze.

The fire started while a bodyshop technician was using a spot welder on a Ford Fiesta.

Three others tried to put out the fire with extinguishers but were forced back by the heat.

Other quick-thinking staff moved an acetylene gas canister away from the flames into the centre of the building.

Flames then spread to a nearby car.

Alister Leith, group dealer principal of the Ford dealership, said: "Most of the damage is superficial and we will need to do some re-wiring and decorating," he said.

Body shop trade opened for business at 10am today in other buildings on site.

Six firefighters wore breathing apparatus to fight the blaze, and fire crews were at the site until 6.15pm damping down.

Station Officer Mark James from Colchester said: "The building was totally smoke logged and we could not see the centre of the fire. Smoke was billowing from all the exits.

"It was 30 minutes before we located it and extinguished it."

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