A MARKET town high street was brought to a standstill as firefighters tackled a blaze that gutted an amusement arcade yesterday.

Rush-hour traffic was diverted as 25 firefighters braved intense heat and acrid smoke to put out the fire at J Noble and Sons Amusements, in Front Street, Chester-le-Street.

Detectives investigating the fire are treating it as suspicious and firefighters believe an arsonist may have broken into the three-storey building via the roof.

Early morning shoppers looked on as six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus climbed into the ground floor of the burning building. They had to break open a ground floor window because shutters covered the front door.

The alarm was raised by a member of the public who spotted smoke billowing from the roof of the premises at about 8.20am.

Ten minutes later, the middle section of Front Street was cordoned off.

Assistant divisional officer Ian Docherty said: "The fire is being treated as suspicious.

"There is evidence that somebody had been in the amusement arcade and caused damage to some of the slot machines.

"Evidence has also been found of forced entry on the roof.

"It looks like someone has ripped up some roof tiles and climbed in to do this.

"Thankfully there was no one inside at the time and the fire did not spread to the mobile phone shop immediately next door.

"We are working at the moment to tackle arson with the police, so if anyone has any information about this incident they could call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111."

It is thought the fire started in or around a cupboard under the first floor stairs of the building.

The unstable shell of the building means forensic experts from the police and fire brigade are waiting until this morning to begin their internal enquiries.

Acting Detective Sergeant John Simons, of Chester-le-Street CID, said: "A lot of inquiries have yet to be made and we are keeping an open mind on how the blaze started.

"We are certainly not jumping to the conclusion that it was deliberate."

The middle part of Front Street was closed for about two hours while the fire was extinguished. An access road used by buses and delivery vans was expected to still be cordoned off this morning.