A BLAZE which gutted two terraced shops caused chaos for motorists trying to get into Blackburn town centre today.

The fire destroyed two terraced shops which were undergoing renovation on Accrington Road at Bottomgate.

But the road has been closed off and a diversion set up because of the danger of falling masonry. One of the biggest firms to suffer is car dealership Caledonia on nearby Pendle Street.

Frustrated managing director Steve Artingstall said today: "We would expect to sell 20 to 30 cars over the weekend but so far no-one has come.

"You can reach us but we get business from all over the place and if you are not familiar with the area you are not going to find us." There was also concern that fans travelling to the big Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United game would cause further chaos.

The blaze broke out at around 1 am and was so severe that part of the shops collapsed. However, fire crews stopped the flames spreading to an adjoining carpet warehouse in the former Hopwood Arms pub.

Blackburn Fire Station officer David Bowers said: "When we arrived the shops were totally engulfed in fire.

"It was like a scene from the Blitz."

Fire crews from Accrington, Darwen and Oswaldtwistle helped to tackle the blaze using jets and a turntable ladder.

Mr Bowers added that only the thick wall of the former pub had stopped the carpet warehouse going up as well.

He said the cause of the fire was suspicious and was being investigated by both fire brigade and police.

A Blackburn Council building inspector was today inspecting the damage before deciding when to re-open the road.

However, the section of Accrington Road between Newton Street and Gate Street is expected to be closed for most of the day and drivers will have to follow diversion signs.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.