Southbound side of Civic Drive in Ipswich, between junctions of Handford Road and Princes Street, closed due to fire

A road closure was put in place in a Suffolk town centre as six fire crews worked to extinguish a blaze.

The fire service was called to Civic Drive in Ipswich at 7.04am this morning, to reports of an alarm sounding and thick black smoke billowing from the old crown court building.

Six fire crews attended the three storey building.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said crews made their way through the building to check there was nobody inside.

The fire had been extinguished by 10.26 am and a stop was called.

On social media Suffolk Police said: “The southbound side of Civic Drive in Ipswich - between the junctions of Handford Road and Princes Street - is currently closed due to a fire.”

Crews from Ixworth, Princes Street, Ipswich East, Woodbridge, Holbrook and Haverhill attended.

An investigation to establish the cause of the fire will now take place.