DRAMATIC video has been released of firemen tackling a fire in Darlington.

The fire broke out in the former St T's Home shop in Skinnergate around 4am on Thursday.

Graham Pepper, managing director of Pepper Draughting Structural, was sat at his desk in his office in Houndgate at around 4.30am when he saw the blaze.

“I went over to the window and saw smoke, and I just thought what is going on? So I headed over to the corner of Skinnergate where Newcastle Building Society is and I just saw thick black smoke," he said.

“There was about three of four police cars, a van and two fire engines, and the police were stopping people going along Skinnergate.

“It seemed to be getting worse and it was a lot worse than the pictures make out – they don’t do it justice.

“At one point the firefighters on the high riser had to be pulled back because the wind was changing direction and blowing the smoke right at them in the direction of the town clock.

“The police didn’t seem overly concerned, but there was people stopping to see what was happening. You could hear the glass shattering and the roof coming down.

“It is amazing that there are that many people in the town centre at that time of the morning – I don’t normally see that many.”

Around 10.20am, Durham Police issued a statement.

They said: "Emergency services remain at the scene of a fire at the three-storey St T’s Home Shop, in Skinnergate, Darlington.

"Officers were called to the incident at 4.30am this morning by colleagues from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service.

"A man in his forties was rescued from the property by firefighters and taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.

"Skinnergate is expected to remain closed for the rest of the day and people are being urged to avoid the area.

"Police and the fire service will remain on scene for the next few days to carry out investigations into the cause of the fire."