AN investigation has been launched after a ferocious blaze ripped through a Harlow engineering works.

Eight crews from Essex and Hertfordshire, including Harlow, were called to the fire at Teknequip Ltd, in Horsecroft Road, on the Pinnacles Industrial estate, at 5.55pm on Thursday.

The blaze destroyed about 30 per cent of the building.

Fire crews believe the fire, which also smoke damaged 80 per cent of the large two-storey engineering company, may have been started deliberately, and Essex fire officers are investigating the cause.

Describing the scene, Station Officer Norman Sparkes, from Harlow fire station, said: 'The fire was well alight when we arrived. There were flames coming out of the windows and the entire building was smoke-logged.

'One window in particular was broken due to the fire and it was exposing large flames. It had spread to the roof and was issuing out from the eves.'

Around 30 firefighters battled for an hour-and-a-half to bring the flames under control, but fire crews were still damping down at 11pm.

Mr Sparkes said: 'It was a big operation. It was a serious fire which is being investigated. It had probably been building-up unnoticed for a considerable amount of time.'