Animals safe as fire crews battle blaze at Drayton Manor theme park

Crews from across Staffordshire attended the park near Tamworth last night after the fire broke out at around 10.30pm.

It started at one of the toilet blocks on the park – and was fast to spread due to the wooden roof of the building.

Bosses at the theme park say noone was injured and all the park's animals are safe.

Video from the scene showed smoke pouring into the night sky as emergency services rushed to the scene. Flames reached as high as 30 metres at the peak of the blaze, fire chiefs have said.

Firefighters from Cannock, Chase Terrace, Tamworth, Mercia, Burton on Trent and Barton Under Needwood were all sent to the park.

A total of 28 firefighters attended the scene, with the blaze put out at approximately 2am on Wednesday.

The fire was put out after crews broke through the roof of an adjoining building and used jets to prevent the blaze from spreading.

Incident commander Stuart Ruckledge said: "When I arrived I was concerned about the embers from the wooden roof structure catching on other nearby buildings, but thanks to the quick work of the first crews at the scene, Tamworth and Mercia, we were able to stop the spread.

“The on-site theme park staff were also very helpful in allowing us to use a golf buggy to run our hose and portable pumps across the site, were on hand to isolate the electrics and also answered questions about what was in certain areas including anything hazardous to crews.”

“Fire safety officers will support the park management during this already stressful time to ensure that further incidents are avoided."

A spokesman for Drayton Manor said last night: "We can confirm that we currently have a number of fire crews on site at the park.

"Since being made aware of the blaze, we have been in close contact with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, who have advised us that the situation is now, thankfully, under control. No one has been injured and all of the park’s animals are safe.

"It is not yet safe for us to survey the damage. For now, we echo the advice to local residents to keep doors and windows closed, and thank all those involved in the swift and effective response."

It is not yet known what caused the fire.

Fire crews remained at the site, damping down hotspots, all night and this morning, in order to support the fire investigation.