The fire service sent four engines to Kytes Drive as it feared rough sleepers could be inside a burning building.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service was called at 3.34pm today (August 26) with reports of a derelict building on fire in Watford.

The two-storey building was believed to have been used by rough sleepers, the service said, and it was concerned that there may have been people inside.

Four fire engines were therefore sent to the scene and the crews found an outbuilding next to the house “well alight” and the fire spreading to the roof of the main building.

Firefighters went into the building and were able to confirm there was nobody inside before extinguishing the blaze.

Watford Observer: Kytes Drive, WatfordKytes Drive, Watford (Image: Google Street View)

Fire engines had been called from Garston, Watford, and St Albans fire stations.

Kytes Drive is mostly made up of 56 bungalows designed for people over the age of 55, but the fire service has confirmed that it was the roof of a two-storey building that was alight.

As of 4.43pm, the fire service remained at the scene and warned motorists over congestion in the area.