A BLOCK of shops and businesses is set to be demolished after a huge fire swept through Chorley town centre.

The blaze, began in the roof of a the Amalfi Italian restaurant on High Street, Chorley, just before 4am yesterday.

Five people in nearby flats were evacuated as the blaze spread to the Cash Converters store and to the former Bon Marche shop adjacent to the restaurant.

About 30 firefighters, using six fire engines and an aerial ladder, dealt with the blaze and were damping down a large area behind the facade of the shops for most of the morning.

Parts of Cleveland Street and High Street were cordoned off to traffic and pedestrians for the whole day.

There were no reported injuries in the incident.

Commander Sean Walton, from Lancashire Fire Service, said: “It was a very severe fire, well alight when officers arrived.”

The central Post Office opposite did not open on time as it was affected by the police cordon.

A spokesman for Chorley Council said the pavement was clear on the opposite side of High Street but the roads affected are likely to remain closed until next Tuesday.

Chorley Council’s chief executive Gary Hall said: “We’ve been working closely with the emergency services to ensure that the area affected by the fire is made safe and that the roads can be re-opened to allow people access to the shops and delivery drivers access to the businesses as soon as possible.

“Our officers are overseeing part demolition of the buildings to make the area safe and we’ll be on hand to offer advice and support to those businesses affected, particularly if they need to find alternative accommodation in the short term.

“The road closures meant that the High Street taxi rank couldn’t be used so we have also set up a temporary rank in the Flat Iron car park today until the roads re-open.”

The cause of the fire has not yet been established but investigations are continuing.