A fire broke out at a chip shop last night.

Firefighters were called to Seasider at West Bay.

Four crews attended the scene shortly before 6pm but the number dramatically increased. 

Two crews from Bridport, two from Charmouth and two from Dorchester as well as crews from Lyme Regis, Beaminster, Axminster, Yeovil and Chard rushed to the chippy on Forty Foot Way in a joint operation between Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) and Devon and Somerset.

According to the fire service, the fire started accidentally in the kitchen with an electric plate warmer, which ignited a deep fat fryer. 

Bridport and Lyme Regis News:

Firefighters at the scene this morning

The fire spread through the extraction ducting, which meant firefighters had to cut away certain areas to ensure all points of fire were found and extinguished.

Speaking at the scene, fire incident commander Paul Mitchell said the fire required an 'aggressive' response to prevent it spreading further. 

He said the fire was contained to a flue which ran from the ground to the roof via an adjoing property. 

"It was really difficult to intially locate the source of the fire. We eventually established two separate fires - one at the chip shop and one at a private residency. The complexity of the layout and the nature of the building meant we had to check various voids to stop the fire spreading further and extinguish it."

Martin, who lives close to the takeaway, said: "We went to get our fish and chips at about 5pm and just as we finished we saw smoke coming from the building. At that stage we were going to cal 999 but heard the fire engines coming. There was a lot of smoke coming out. You could smell it - it was quite strong."

People were advised to avoid the area due to the large number of fire engines in attendance.

Bridport and Lyme Regis News:

A spokesman for DWFRS said nobody has been injured in the fire and people in the building at the time got out quickly. 

The response was later scaled back to two pumps.