Police have ordered the evacuation of a North-East town centre following a fire in an indoor market.
Fire crews were called to The Clifford Centre, also known as Stanley Indoor Market, at around 10am this morning after fire broke out in one of the units.
Dozens of stallholders and shoppers were initially evacuated from the scene as fire crews dealt with the blaze. However, it was confirmed at around 12.30pm that two oxy-acetylene cylinders were inside the building and police ordered the evacuation of dozens of homes and businesses in the town centre.
A 200m cordon was imposed around the scene, reduced an hour later to 100m, including the closure of several roads, including the A693 between High Street roundabout and the Asda roundabout.
One man has been taken to the University Hospital of North Durham following the fire. His condition is not known.
More to follow.
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