A fire at the Blooms Garden Centre near Cardiff has almost destroyed the site and buildings, forcing it to close.
The fire at the centre in St Mellons, which is part of The Garden Centre Group Chain, started around 10.30pm yesterday and the cause is now under investigation. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service took five hours to put the fire out and it is estimated that only 30% of the building remains.

The Garden Centre Group confirmed that no members of staff or customers were on the site at the time the fire started. "The garden centre will remain closed for the foreseeable future. At this stage we do not know what caused the fire," the company said.

Group manager from South Wales Fire and Rescue, Brian Thompson, told BBC Radio Wales that eight engines and 46 firefighters tackled the blaze. "We had a fast-moving fire in, what appeared to be, the whole of Blooms. The fire was moving towards nearby units and also some houses.

"The whole nursery just appeared to be completely engulfed in flames but I believe we saved about 30% of the nursery."

He also said that three nearby homes had to be evacuated. The fire was eventually put out in the early hours of this morning (Thursday).

The BBC reported that the garden centre manager arrived at the scene to direct firefighters to where the danger areas were onsite, including where fireworks were stored.

A spokeswoman for The Garden Centre Group said: "We are asking our customers to check online for further updates and any customers who have events booked in the run up to Christmas will be contacted by our customer service team."