A fishing boat was destroyed in a fire while moored in Hartlepool on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said the blaze broke out in the engine compartment and spread to the rest of the vessel causing 85 per cent fire damage and 10 per cent heat damage.

The two fire engines called out to the incident from Stranton Fire Station were staffed by auxiliary fire fighters due to an ongoing strike over pensions which had lasted eight days.

No one was injured in the incident and firefighters dealt with the fire within an hour, returning to the station at around 6:50pm.

Ian Hayton, Cleveland’s Chief Fire Officer, told Hartlepool Mail: “We had good contingency arrangements in place to provide emergency cover during these periods of disruption, which included having fully trained and experienced, professional firefighters supported by auxiliary firefighters who are similarly trained.”

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