A PASSING police patrol car was in the right place at the right time when its crew saved a Leominster supermarket from being gutted by fire.

The police officers noticed a misty haze as they passed Kwik Save in Westbury Street around 3am last Sunday. They turned back and raised the alarm after spotting smoke coming from a ventilation shaft.

Fire fighters from Leominster and Leintwardine used cutting equipment to force an entry through roller shutter doors at the rear of the building. Six firemen wearing breathing apparatus entered the store and cut through a second steel roller door to the caf.

Fire raging around a large industrial sized fridge in the kitchen area was starting to creep up the walls.

Leominster fire station spokesman Roger Hall said the alarm call was made in the nick of time. "The building could have been destroyed or badly damaged, " he said.

Despite the night drama, the store was able to open for business on time.