FIRE crews were called to deal with a large fire in the roof of a former church tonight.

A blaze broke out in the building in Colliery Road, in Bearpark, near Durham City shortly before 4.45pm.

The disused church was now being used as a warehouse storing a large amount of wood and the fire had spread to the building's roof void.

A spokesman for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue said the blaze was believed to be linked to construction work being carried out on the building, and was not being treated as suspicious.

It was extinguished in about 25 minutes by three crews sent to the scene.