Police still at scene as probe begins into cause of major blaze at former primary school

Police remain at the scene as the investigation continues into discovering the cause of a blaze which ripped through a derelict primary school.

Firefighters spent eight hours tackling a large scale blaze at a former Greenland Primary School building in South Moor last night.

Residents spoke of their shock at seeing plumes of smoke and huge flames rising from the roof of the building - which has been vacant for a number of years.

The blaze at the derelict building in South Moor. (Scott Dodds)

Five appliances, an aerial ladder platform and an incident command support unit were dispatched to the scene of the blaze at 7pm and were joined by police officers and a Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).

Firefighters managed to get the fire under control by 3am before leaving the scene.

A police cordon has remained in place today after an investigation was launched into the cause of the fire between Northumbria Police and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service .

The aftermath of the fire at the old Greenland Primary School on South Terrace in Stanley. (Newcastle Chronicle)

Crime scene investigators were spotted carrying out inquiries on Sunday at the scene.

Images show the extent of the damage sustained by the building with the roof almost completely destroyed.

The aftermath of the fire at the old Greenland Primary School on South Terrace in Stanley. (Newcastle Chronicle)

Rob Cherrie, group manager of County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said: "We received the call at 7pm to attend a derelict building on School Terrace in South Moor.

"We dispatched five appliances from across the area including  Peterlee  , Consett and Darlington, one aerial ladder platform from Durham and one incident command support unit to the scene.

"Crews used the aerial ladder platform to tackle the fire from above while firefighters also used jets at ground level.

The aftermath of the fire at the old Greenland Primary School on South Terrace in Stanley. (Newcastle Chronicle)

"Thankfully there were no injuries as a result of the incident.

"We scaled down the operation from midnight and had the blaze under control by around 3am - when our last crew departed.

"One crew has been back at 7am this morning and another will return to the scene at midday to check for hotspots.

"A joint investigation is now ongoing to determine the cause of the fire with both the fire service and police.

"Police have a large cordon around the building which will remain there during the course of the day.

"We urge members of the public to stay clear of the area if possible."