A suspected arson attack on a car dealership in Standlake Road closed the A415 in the early hours of today.

Fire crews battled the blaze at Blenheim Car Sales which destroyed four 4x4 vehicles and damaged another at 3.30am.

A fire service spokesman said that fire crews informed the police of the fire and added that “arson is not being ruled out”.

Crew Manager Chris Hollis said: “We arrived at the scene to discover quite a severe fire with vehicles having been destroyed.

“It was a very windy night and smoke was drifting across the road so it was imperative to get on top of the situation as quickly as possible and prevent the situation becoming more severe.”

Firefighters were forced to close the A415 for about an hour between 3.45am and 4.45am, and left the scene at 5am.