FIREFIGHTERS believe a faulty fridge could have caused a blaze which gutted a storeroom at a shop in Witton Street, Northwich.

The damage, which could run into thousands of pounds, was caused after the blaze broke out on the first floor of the shop, called Home Heat, which sells fire appliances such as gas heaters.

Passers-by raised the alarm after spotting the blaze just after 9pm on Saturday. Fire crews went to the scene and had to break a door down to get in.

The first owner Philip Ashton knew about the blaze was when police visited him at his home in Warrington to ask whether there were gas cylinders on site.

He said: "I went to the shop straight away.

"I'm absolutely devastated. I'm gutted.

"I just don't know where to turn first."

He added: "The firefighters told me it was probably the fridge that was stored in the room that was the cause."

Although the first floor was gutted there was a great deal of smoke damage in the shop itself.

A fire spokesman said: "There were plenty of people around at the time, which meant the alarm was raised quickly.

"When we arrived the premises was secure so we don't believe it was started maliciously.

"It took us 30 minutes to get the blaze under control and we were there for just over two hours."