A huge fire has ripped through a historic building in a popular UK market town, with homes evacuated and fire crews urging locals to "completely avoid the area". Emergency crews attended the scene at Big Mill in Leek, Staffordshire, at 9.40pm on March 27. Six fire crews and an aerial appliance were dispatched to the Grade-II building.

Mill Street and Bellevue were closed as a result, and nearby homes were evacuated. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue urged the public to "completely avoid the area". It said: "We have six crews and an aerial ladder platform at the scene of a large fire at The Big Mill, Mill Street, Leek.

"Crews are asking people not to drive near the area as this is making things more difficult. Please keep doors and windows closed."

Parts of the building appear to have collapsed or burned away as the fire raged through the night.

One local wrote on Facebook: "Can't believe we came across [the fire] it as one of the first, shaking like a leaf, horrific!!! The noise was awful!"

Another added: "Hope everyone's safe parts of it are collapsing especially the other side it's terrible."

The six-storey Big Mill is currently unoccupied, but has planning permission for 34 flats, a council report shows.

It was built in 1857 and was home to the silk manufacturing firm Wardle & Davenport, which made artificial silk stockings and employed 2,500 people at its peak.