TRADERS have been left counting the cost of a devastating warehouse fire on the edge of Blackburn town centre.

Firefighters have battled for more than two days to deal with the blaze at the sprawling Willmans shoe warehouse, off Kent Street.

Ten crews from across Lancashire raced to the site at 7.30pm on Friday, as firefighters battled to prevent the flames spreading to the adjacent JAS Timber warehouse, Walpole Street.

Nearby businesses were also hit hard as a result of the blaze. This included aquarium specialists Aquamania, which lost power along with neighbouring firms.

Ashley Cook, who owns Aquamania, said: "The electricity went off at 4am, which stopped the tanks filters from working and they have overflowed.

"Lots of fish have died - we aren't sure how many just yet because with the electricity off inside we can't see the damage.

"The thermostats have also gone off in the reptile tanks, but we believe they are okay. Some of the fish survived in just inches of water.

"Staff have mopped up the sections of the store that they could get to."

Staff were unable to open up the store because of healthy and safety reasons on Saturday and instead set up a stall on Lower Audley Street.

"This is our busiest time of year and the fire has killed our trade stone dead for the weekend," added Mr Cook.

Nearby plumbers merchants Sheths also suffered as a result of the power cuts, which also hit their phone lines.

Firefighters struggled to get to the fire as the roof collapsed onto the burning debris on Saturday.

Demolition experts were called in on Sunday to remove the roof to allow firefighters to tackle the dying embers of the blaze. The fire service has launched an investigation into the cause of the blaze.

Station manager Jeff Holden, of Bamber Bridge station, said: "The adjacent building, JAS Timber, suffered a small amount of damage where the fire had spread through the joists that connect the two buildings.

"Fire crews did an excellent job at preventing the fire spreading any further."