Dozens of firefighters tackled a large fire at a derelict Indian restaurant in a County Durham Village early this morning.

Emergency services were alerted to the blaze at the former Mumbai Restaurant in Haswell Plough, east Durham, shortly before 3am. 

Three fire engines and an ariel ladder platform attended the scene and extinguished the fire. The extent of the damage is not known at this stage.  

A spokesperson for the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were called to a fire at a derelict Indian restaurant in Haswell Plough at 2.50am on Saturday (October 26).

"We dispatched two appliances from Peterlee. one appliance from Wheatley Hill and one appliance from Durham."

The premises, which sits in a prominent position in the village, was formerly the Plough pub, before it closed in 2012. 

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It later opened at the Mumbai Restaurant, which remain opened until the Covid lockdown. It reopened after lockdown but was closed permanently not long after. 

The premises has reportedly been subject to vandalism since.

  • Durham County Council has granted permission for the demolition of the building and the erection of four dwellings on the site.