FIRE IN THE AISLE

THIS is the moment a fire took hold in the aisle of an Asda supermarket. The store in Tonypandy was open when the fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday.

The blaze started at around 12.30am and appears to have taken place in the toilet roll aisle, with footage showing flames ripping through shelving units.

Sam Sheppard, who was outside the Asda store at the time of the incident, said the emergency services arrived within minutes of the fire starting.

“I stayed there until roughly 2.40am and the fire crews and police were still there,” said the 18-year-old.

“There didn’t appear to be too many people shopping at the time – mainly workers restocking shelves and construction workers who were refitting the store.

“Everyone seemed to be annoyed and just shocked at the whole situation.”

South Wales Fire Service was called to the supermarket, in Colliers Way, at 12.37am yesterday.

A spokeswoman for the service said three fire engines and 15 firefighters attended the blaze, which saw the building evacuated.

An Asda spokesman confirmed nobody had been injured during the incident.

Video footage shows the fire well ablaze in between aisle nine and eight while shoppers, staff and construction workers gathered outside.

Further video footage shows around a dozen supermarket shopping trolleys lined up outside the store with burned toilet paper and shelving piled up.

An Asda spokesman said yesterday: “Following an incident last night our Tonypandy store is currently closed.

“We’re pleased that no one was hurt and would like to thank the emergency services and our colleagues for their quick response.

“We’ll be working hard to ensure the store is open for business as soon as possible.”

South Wales Police have been contacted for comment.