THICK smoke billowed into the air as a fire broke out at a derelict factory building in Worcester.

Firefighters rushed to a fire in Navigation Road, Diglis at 1.37pm this afternoon after rubbish left inside the building caught alight.

Many of the windows on the outside of the factory were blown out, with glass littering the ground below.

Police set up a roadblock nearby as emergency services battled to extinguish the blaze.

Adrian Farmer, station commander in Worcester for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We were called after a quantity of rubbish caught fire in the building.

"Firefighters battled through thick smoke to use hoses to extinguish the flames.

"There was not a lot of damage to the building but we had to create access points for our firefighters."

Around 20 firefighters from four fire crews tackled the blaze which was 'predominantly' smoke.

The fire was in a factory unit previously occupied by James Thomas Engineering.

Police confirmed that no-one was in the building at the time the fire broke out.

Three fire crews attended from Worcester, with one from Droitwich also called.

Whilst no flames were visible, there was a "strong smell of smoke" in the air around the factory.

The fire was extinguished by around 3.30pm, with police were left to secure the building.