A MASSIVE fire broke out in the centre of Ross-on-Wye last Friday, (April 24), which devastated a MOT centre, a hospice charity shop and the offices of a solicitor and an accountant.

The incident was first reported to the emergency services just after 5pm.

A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said that numerous pumps had been deployed to the incident, which included at least five fire appliances and an aerial ladder.

A large, blackened hole could be seen on the building’s fibreglass roof, while the fuel station operating at the Morrisons site had to be closed during the incident.

Fire crews remained at the scene for a number of hours after it had been extinguished at around 7pm.

Rob Tuckwell, the owner of the MOT Centre in Cantilupe Road, praised the emergency services for their efforts and the local community for rallying around the affected businesses.

Cantilupe Café staff brought out refreshments for the firefighters as did Morrisons who supplied the fire fighters with a trolley filled with supplies.

During the height of the fire the Morrisons car park was used as a through route for motorists as the local road network had been closed due to the incident. A small crowd also watched the incident from the supermarket’s car park.

Following a clean-up of the area, where debris littered both Cantilupe Road and Station Street on Saturday morning, the roads were subsequently opened up to traffic.

St Michael's Hospice director Rachel Jones said that the team in Ross had responded well to the incident and added: “We’ve suffered significant water ingress and smoke damage which means that unfortunately this branch will be closed for the foreseeable future.

“We’re hoping that when we can re-open the local community will rally round and support us. In the meantime, we have two shops in Ross that remain open.”