SMOKE billowed into the sky while firefighters spent almost two hours extinguishing a fire in a block of garages, later spreading to its roof.

Responding to a 999 call, crews arrived at the scene in Horkesley Gardens, Hutton, at about 2.45pm on Tuesday August 23 to find three garages in the same block on fire.

Using two hose reel jets, crews from Brentwood, Billericay and Basildon reported to have the inferno under control by about 3.30pm.

The fire was extinguished about an hour later, while one thermal imaging camera was used to check for hot spots.

An investigation will be carried out to establish the cause of the fire.