Crews were sent to Club Monaco in Poulton after fire broke out at about 2200 GMT on Sunday.

The club was closed at the time and no-one was rescued, but at one point firefighters had to withdraw because of fears the roof would collapse.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way and crews remained at the scene on Monday.

The club is located within the town's Teanlowe shopping centre.

'Pockets of fire'

Station Manager Peter Moss said: "Firefighters had a difficult task of trying to find where the fire was located when they first arrived because of the structure and the complex layout of the nightclub.

"At first we sent firefighters with breathing apparatus inside to extinguish the fire, however, there was a risk that the roof could collapse and they were withdrawn.

"We will be at the scene for most of today, where we will be ensuring that the remaining pockets of fire have been extinguished.

"We are also going to try and limit the damage to the other businesses inside the shopping centre by pumping the water out that has collected."