Lakeside fire: Car park goes up in flames at shopping centre with black smoke billowing into the sky

Firefighters have rushed to Lakeside Shopping Centre in south Essex where a car park has gone up in flames.

Footage shared on social media shows a large cloud of black smoke billowing into the sky from the roof of a car park.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze started in the stairwell on the roof of the car park.

The blaze has been extinguished and an investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire. 

A notice on the Lakeside's website states that Car Park A is currently closed.  

Crews were called to Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock around 2.50pm today following reports of a fire in the roof of a multi-story car park, Essex Live reported.

Firefighters from Grays, Corringham and Brentwood responded to the scene and upon arrival confirmed a fire had broken out in the stairwell of the roof.

The fire was reportedly extinguished by 3.25pm. 

Watch Manager Danny Harper has applauded the firefighters' efforts, saying they did a 'great job' and  'quickly stopped the fire from spreading further'.

He said: 'We believe the fire started in the stairwell on the roof. Luckily there are no cars on this level so no vehicles have been affected. An investigation will now be carried out into the cause of the fire.'

Lakeside Shopping Centre is one of the biggest shopping centres in Essex and the 11th largest across Britain.

The centre, which operates Monday to Sunday, has 12 free car parks and 11,857 parking spaces. 

A spokesman for Essex Fire and Rescue said: 'Firefighters were called to Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock at 2.52pm after reports of a fire in the roof of a multi-story car park.

'Grays, Corringham and Brentwood were sent to the incident. On arrival, they confirmed it was a fire in the stairwell of the roof.

'Crews extinguished the fire by 3.25pm.'