Fire crews tackle blaze inside Preston's abandoned Miley Tunnel

City fire crews were called to the abandoned half-mile long tunnel in Deepdale after a heap of rubbish caught fire at 4pm.

One fire engine and the aerial ladder platform attended, with crews using the ladder to lower firefighters over the 10-foot security fence and down an embankment to the entrance of the disused railway line in Great George Street.

It took fire crews just over an hour to locate and extinguish the fire inside the pitch-black tunnel, which was originally built in 1840 as part of the Preston and Longridge Railway.

A fire service spokesman said: "The reason we were in attendance in the Deepdale area of the city on Saturday (August 22) was to gain access to a fire inside the Miley tunnel using the ALP.

"One fire engine and one aerial ladder platform from Preston fire station were called to a fire involving a small quantity of rubbish in the tunnel at 4.03pm.

"Crews were at the scene for just over an hour."

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire is under investigation.