East Surrey hospital fire: Ambulances and building catch light after series of 'loud bangs'

No-one was killed or injured in the blaze

Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust say no-one was injured in the blaze (Tony Tobin)

A fire at East Surrey Hospital, which broke out following a series of "loud bangs", has destroyed three ambulances.

Part of the hospital was also caught in the blaze, which was extinguished by emergency services.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust chief executive Michael Wilson said: “We are really pleased nobody has been hurt and nobody has been injured. I would like to commend our staff for their very, very quick reactions. You can see the devastation behind us.

"One ambulance caught fire and then exploded and then the other two ambulances caught fire.

“The emergency services were on the scene pretty quickly and I would like to give my thanks to the police and fire brigade and ambulance services who responded within minutes to bring this whole thing under control."

A fire at East Surrey Hospital after an ambulance burst into flames (PA)

Four fire engines brought the blaze under control, and police cars and additional ambulances were also present.

Unconfirmed social media reports suggest that an ambulance containing gas canisters caught fire, and that these canisters subsequently exploded.

Ambulance units on fire at East Surrey Hospital (Twitter: via Psychotweed)

Video posted on social media appears to show further explosions occuring once the emergency services had already arrived to tackle the initial fire.

The hospital is closed to further emergencies until further notice, and ambulances are being diverted to other neighbouring hospitals.