FIVE fire crews, including two from Norfolk, could not stop two shops being seriously damaged as two fires ravaged a Wisbech street on Wednesday. Fulcher s Butchers and June s Pet Foods, side by side in Norfolk Street, were wrecked and the road was closed

FIVE fire crews, including two from Norfolk, could not stop two shops being seriously damaged as two fires ravaged a Wisbech street on Wednesday.

Fulcher's Butchers and June's Pet Foods, side by side in Norfolk Street, were wrecked and the road was closed yesterday as investigations started into two separate fires, which are being treated as accidental and not linked.

The first was at the rear of the Discount Cycles Shop, also in Norfolk Street, to which two fire crews were called at about 5.30pm.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "Crews were getting people running up to them saying there was another fire but we had not had any calls about it until they got back to base."

It was after crews brought the fire under control at about 6pm, that they had the call to return to Norfolk Street to put out a second fire.

It is believed this second, and much more serious, fire started on the first floor of the butcher's shop and spread rapidly, gutting the first and second floor at the shop as well as the first and second floor of the pet shop next door. Smoke damage was also caused to the adjacent Five Bells pub.

Fire-fighters had to force their way through the frontage of the butcher's shop in order to get to the fire.

Along with two appliances from Wisbech fire station, two pumps from Norfolk, one from March and a turntable ladder from Peterborough were called in. Wisbech police were also called to deal with crowd control and to close the road.

The fire was finally brought under control at 8.20pm, after using two breathing apparatus, four jets and two fire hydrants, but crews remained on the scene until about 10pm to make the area safe.