FIRE fighters battled for hours in boiling heat to clear smoke from a shooting range after a blaze broke out in the kitchen of the centre in Devizes.

Crews were called to Wiltshire Shooting Centre, which is situated in an old railway tunnel in Station Road, Devizes, at 8.30am on Thursday after an electrical fault is believed to have started a fire in the kitchen.

Devizes crew manager Richard Lake said: "It was a job and a half because of the smoke. There was no visibility and because it is a tunnel there was nowhere for the smoke to go.

"It was extremely hot inside and we had ten breathing apparatus in use. The fire itself was not a problem it was the smoke and we had to be extremely careful that there were no hot spots or sparks left."

Initially there were fears that because ammunition was stored in the building there could be risk of explosions but the safety and security measures of the centre held up and specialist areas remained sealed.

But at one point during the operation it was thought things might be going wrong when loud popping sounds were heard but luckily it was discovered this had come from coffee capsules.

Heavy cutting equipment had to be carried several hundred yards to the back entrance of the tunnel near St John's Churchyard but eventually crews inside the building managed to open the rear doors.

The fire was discovered on Thursday morning by shooting range staff who had gone outside and returned to find the fire door had shut to the kitchen.

Crews from Melksham, Calne and Chippenham joined in the operation which continued until late afternoon. The shooting centre has been closed for repairs and has been left without a telephone, electricity and water.

Marketing manager David Hodson-Whittle said: "The fire at The Ranges, which is home to Wiltshire Shooting Centre and Wiltshire Ballistic Services, was contained within the kitchen facilities but has affected our services, which means we are unable to trade at our usual level.

"Thankfully no one was hurt, and structural damage contained to just the kitchen area. We are asking for everyone to bear with us over the next couple of weeks as we clean up and rebuild. We want to reassure our customers that products in storage, repair or in for service have not been affected.

"We are thankful to everyone for providing us with good wishes and kind thoughts and would like to give our special thanks to the fire crews who attended the scene."

Security staff are at the centre 24 hours a day and people are asked to stay away from the site.