Southwater car park blaze: Mystery fire means Telford car park will remain on reduced capacity

The car park was hit by the blaze on Saturday, meaning parking capacity will be reduced for the rest of this week.

The fire caused damage to the car park's lighting and electrical wiring and until this is repaired, a number of parking spaces cannot be used.

There are still parking spaces available on the lower floors of the multi-storey which remain available for visitors to use.

Shoppers were left stranded as smoke billowed from the building during the fire, which saw three cars set alight.

About 15 firefighters were called at 12.30pm to tackle the blaze, which closed roads around the shopping centre over the weekend.

The third-floor blaze could be seen from outside the building and smoke damage left the exterior wall charred following the incident.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service say the cause of the fire is still under investigation and the cause of the blaze is, as yet, unknown.

Telford & Wrekin Council hope that the car park will be back to its full capacity by Monday, when the repairs are complete.

Police officers were also called in to help direct traffic around the centre.

Matt Deeming, one of the attendants at the car park, said: "The car park was vacated because of the fire. Some work needs to be done such as light fittings need to be replaced."

Mr Deeming confirmed nobody had been injured as a result of the fire.

Black smoke damage could be seen on the side of the building from Northfield Street, where the three fire engines parked up.

Crews used one main hose jet, small gear, breathing apparatus and positive pressure ventilation to tackle the blaze.

Northfield Street and other roads around the 600-space car park were closed as a result of the blaze, while shoppers were told they couldn't return to their vehicles for a number of hours until the car park was safe.

The fire was under control within an hour and crews left the scene at 1.40pm.