A FIRE that consumed a Pinehurst shop spread within minutes, onlookers said. 

Firefighters were called out shortly after 7.30pm to the One Stop Shop on Pinehurst Circle. 

The fire is believed to have started in a crate behind the shop, spreading to the convenience store and causing its roof to collapse inwards. 

Swindon Advertiser:

Six fire crews including the aerial appliance from Swindon are fighting the blaze. Part of Pinehurst Circle has been cordoned off by police and Swindon Borough Council officers  are also at the scene of the fire. 

Leah Wheatley, 25, from North Swindon, was buying dinner in neighbouring fish and chip shop Pinehurst Fisheries. She said: “A guy came into the shop and said three times there was a fire. We went round the back. It was a small fire then, but it went up in minutes.

“The firefighters were here very quickly.”

Swindon Advertiser:

Lara Cole, 46, of Cheney Manor, arrived with the first couple of fire crews: “There was billowing smoke we could see from Penhill.”

Sally Franklin, 52, from North Swindon, was also in the chip shop with her family: “It took about five minutes for the fire to spread. When the roof collapsed, the fire spread extremely fast. That was quite shocking.”

This is the second fire to hit Pinehurst Circle in almost as many weeks. On June 27, firefighters tackled an out-of-control bonfire that had spread to sheds and fencing. 

Sarah Rogers, 45, from Penhill, said: “There are just so many fires at the moment. It’s scary.”