Firefighters extinguished a blaze at a three-storey building in Market Street, Harwich.

Crews were called at 3pm and spent more than fours hours at the scene.

A man, 30, was treated for shock but no-one else was injured.

Firefighters reported 90 per cent of the roof had collapsed and the remaining floors were unstable.

An investigation will take place to establish the cause of this fire.

Sub Officer Ivan Cranfield, initial officer in charge said: "It is an old property with a timber frame, timber cladding and many hidden voids and the fire quickly spread from the second floor and into a flat built in the roof of the building."

Station Officer Terry Jewell said: "On arrival crews were faced with an already well developed fire in the centre of the building.

"Working extremely hard in difficult conditions crews did an excellent job in containing this fire to the building in which it had started.

"The fire could so easily have spread to adjacent listed buildings and it is testament to crews professionalism and hard work that this fire was contained and did not spread causing far greater damage."

An eyewitness has told of what he saw as flames took hold of the flats.