Crews tackle fire at entrance to shopping centre

Firefighters are tackling a blaze near the entrance to a shopping centre in Northampton.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service is at the scene of a fire on Abington Street, near the Grosvenor Centre.

The road, the shopping centre and its rear entrance are closed as a result.

People are being urged to avoid the area while emergency services respond to the incident.

University student, Maddie Myers, said she arrived in the town centre at about 18:30 BST to find about five fire engines and "smoke in the air".

"It was super busy and, since they barricaded such a large area off, it was very squashed and a bit hectic because everyone wanted to see what was going on," she said.

"It was the busiest I've seen the town centre in a while, but you could tell something was definitely wrong just by the sheer amount of fire engines.

"I was in town last Friday at the same time as the Bridge 26 fire and there wasn't as many trucks or firefighters there at the time."

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