Firefighters were called to two cars on fire in a car park beneath a Chelmsford block of flats.

The two cars, in the Thompson Court car park, in Broomfield Road, Chelmsford, were reported to be 100 per cent alight at 3.09am this morning.

The block of flats was evacuated before the fire service arrived and crews wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire by 3.45am.

A high pressured fan was used to ventilate the stairwell of the flats.

Crews also dealt with a burst water main in the car park. The fire service and the police will carry out an investigation to establish the cause of the fire.