Fire investigators continue to probe huge blaze at Preston car dealership

More than four days on from the inferno at the Inchcape Jaguar Land Rover Dealership in Ribbleton investigators are still trying to work out how it started.

At its height there were more then 60 firefighters with 10 fire engines, two aerial ladder platforms (ALPs) and other specialist units from across Lancashire trying to bring the blaze under control.

And even though forensic experts have been examining the badly damaged building throughout the Easter weekend, Inchcape admitted today that it was continuing "to work with the local authorities to understand the cause."

Many prestige vehicles were damaged in the blaze and the total cost is likely to run into seven figures - although Inchcape declined to talk about the amount.

The alarm was raised at just after 1am at the dealership on Bluebell Way, close to Junction 31a of the M6. More than a dozen firefighters wearing breathing apparatus fought the blaze at close range in an attempt to prevent it spreading.

By 3:30am there were still nine fire engines at the scene alongside a number of specialist appliances, a stinger and a drone team. It took until 6:30pm that day for almost all the appliances to leave the site. And it wasn't until 10:45am on the Saturday that the incident was officially closed.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said today: "The fire is still under investigation." A spokesperson said they could not comment on the scale of the damage to the building or how many vehicles had been involved.

The dealership, which opened in 2018, was still closed "temporarily" today and the company was unable to say when it would reopen to staff and customers. A statement from Inchcape said: "Following Thursday night's fire we continue to work with local authorities to understand the cause. We can confirm that following work over the weekend the site is secure and that no-one was injured.

"We would like to thank again the emergency services and the various support agencies for their hard work and support to contain the damage. The business is closed temporarily and we continue to support our team and communicate with our customers throughout this period.”