Fire breaks out at city's historic May Fair

A fire broke out in Hereford city centre during its annual historic May Fair.

About 20 firefighters were sent to the scene in Commercial Street, where a mobile tea and coffee stall had caught fire and was completely destroyed.

Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the blaze, which was reported to emergency crews at about 11:00 BST, said Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.

A traditional ceremony was held on Tuesday to officially open the fair, which has taken place in the town for more than 900 years.

The event is the oldest surviving charter fair in Britain, according to the local council, and sees rides and food stalls set up for visitors.

Fire service group commander Dave Swallow said the fire started in one of the catering units which was part of the fair, destroying it along with causing some cosmetic damage to adjacent buildings.

No-one was inside the unit at the time.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said a passing paramedic came across the fire and an ambulance was sent to the scene.

"A man from the truck was assessed and had sustained injuries not believed to be serious," a ambulance service spokesperson said.

"He received treatment from ambulance staff at the scene and declined further treatment. He received self care advice before being discharged at the scene."

Mr Swallow said the fire service worked closely with the Showmen's Guild (a professional organization for fairground operators) when the fair was on and carried out daily checks to ensure fire safety rules were met, with enough space between units, stalls and rides.

"By maintaining that space, we limit the possibility of damage from fire spread reaching the adjacent buildings," he said.

"Crews were able to tackle the fire very quickly and bring it under control.

"The fire happened in the morning so the city centre wasn't too busy.

"Thankfully, there were not large numbers of the public knocking about and that allowed us to get access to the fire quite quickly, but it's quite a devastating fire for the stall holder," he added.

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