Residents have been unable to return to their homes after being evacuated due to a huge fire on Beach Road (Image: Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle)

Residents evacuated from their homes after a devastating fire ripped through a building in South Shields have been unable to return to collect their belongings days later. Emergency services were called to the blaze on Beach Road shortly after 12.40pm on Friday afternoon.

Firefighters were on site for almost 22 hours, with reports that the incident was finally under control by 10.19am on Saturday . A police cordon remained in place until around lunchtime, when the road re-opened to traffic.

Fire investigators and police were also spotted at the scene with blue fencing erected along the footpath outside the flats. No-one was reported t

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