Cambridge Coleridge school fire: Blaze breaks out during summer workshop

Plumes of smoke billowed from the school in the south of the city

A school was evacuated as a fire broke out when children were attending a summer holiday drama workshop.

The blaze took hold in the roof of the gymnasium at Coleridge Community College in Radegund Road, Cambridge, at about 10:35 BST.

Plumes of black smoke were seen across parts of the south of the city.

Six crews, plus an aerial platform crew, took about 20 minutes to bring it under control and praised staff for getting everyone out safely.

Group Commander Danny Kelly from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said crews arrived to find "quite a severe fire" but "quickly got on top of it".

The fire damaged solar panels on the roof of the sports hall

He said no-one was hurt and he praised those at the school for being "fantastic" and "taking roll call" to confirm everyone was out.

The fire was "contained to solar panels on the roof area of a sports hall", the fire service wrote on its website.

An aerial platform was used to tackle the rooftop blaze

Crews from Cambridgeshire and Suffolk attended

In a post on its Facebook page, the school said: "All staff and visitors on site were evacuated promptly and any damage has been limited.

"The school is able to operate as usual."