THERE were dramatic scenes and hours of traffic disruption in Ledbury High Street as a fire hit the Clarks shoe shop.

The shop suffered considerable damage due to the heater fire, with smoke rising through overhead floorboards to fill the rooms above the store on Monday afternoon.

The news was met with dismay by the chairman of the Ledbury Traders' Association, Annette Crowe, who said: "It's a real shame, and I hope they can get the shop fixed up and sorted out as soon as possible. Clarks is a valuable asset to this town, especially for children's shoes and school shoes.

"This is a really awful thing to happen for staff and the owner, especially at this time of year. A fire is every shopkeeper's nightmare."

Clarks' staff were all able to leave the store safely and no-one was injured, but the fire took three hours to deal with.

Firefighters from Malvern and Fownhope attended the scene, at around 2pm.

With a building burning in the High Street, firefighters called in Ledbury police to help with traffic.

Three police officers were assigned to keep cars flowing as well as possible.

Top Cross was kept open, so motorists were able to take a right turn into the High Street, where a single lane of traffic was allowed, on the opposite side of the road to the Clarks' fire.

But motorists coming from the opposite direction, from the Bromyard Road and the Hereford Road, were diverted down Bye Street and were not allowed to pass through the High Street.

Buses, however, were allowed through, under police guidance.

Not every motorist followed the temporary regulations without question.

PCSO David Alexander said: "Most of the motorists were compliant with the temporary regulations, but some didn't seem to understand what was happening."

It wasn't until 5.12pm that both lanes of Ledbury High Street were open again.

Flames took hold of a hung artificial ceiling in Clarks shoe shop shortly before 2pm on Monday, December 17.

A spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire Service told the Reporter that the fire began with an electric heater fault, causing flames to spread in the ceiling and take hold.

The Reporter understands, from a separate source, that the heater had only been installed in the ceiling recently.

Smoke billowed into rooms above the shop, after floorboards were burnt through in places, and the shop itself was badly damaged by fire.

The Reporter understands that the rooms were not occupied.

At the height of the blaze, two hose reel jets were in operation, and firefighters used four sets of breathing apparatus in order to enter and search the building.

On Tuesday, staff and management were at the scene to assess the damage.

The Ledbury Reporter contacted Clarks head office for a comment and further information, but this had not arrived by the time of going to press.