FIREFIGHTERS have spoken of the atrocious conditions they faced as they tackled a blaze which left a doctors' surgery severely damaged.

A fire service chief said that extinguishing the fire at the refurbished Louisa Surgery, in Stanley, was as difficult as tackling a large factory blaze.

The fire, which could have smouldered for at least 12 hours, caused floors to collapse and furniture to fall through.

The heat and smoke was contained by the surgery's solid Victorian walls so the blaze was only discovered at 8am yesterday, by a postman doing his morning round.

The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault on the first floor of the converted stone-built house, which stands on a cut between Front Street and the town's Scott Street car park.

Firefighters arrived to discover four separate fires, two on each floor.

Station manager Alan Gibson said: "The conditions were horrendous. It was difficult to find the fire because of the build-up of heat and smoke - at points, the firefighters had to feel their way. It was atrocious.

"It had started on the first floor and spread under the floorboards. The floor had collapsed and furniture had fallen through - even a fireplace hearth - which would have caused serious injury if crews had been in at the time.

"It could have been extremely dangerous, we could easily have had a serious injury.

"It isn't always the big factory blazes which are the most difficult to deal with."

The ten firefighters, who spent more than an hour tackling the blaze, were given fluid afterwards, but were unhurt.

Staff at the surgery, which opened in 1990 and completed a refurbishment last week, were yesterday assessing the extent of the damage and making alternative arrangements.

Dr Brian Lambert and Dr Ian Brunt have 4,700 patients on their books, split between the fire-damaged surgery and their second premises, in Ann- field Plain.

Patients will be treated at Annfield Plain while work takes place to get the Stanley premises up and running.

Practice manager Audrey Allan said: "We are hoping to have some sort of service open here by Monday."

Any patient with queries is asked to ring the practice on (01207) 214925.