An emergency forced a number of roads to close in Benfleet this morning.

Church Road, Stanley Road and Chesterfield Avenue were closed in Benfleet, according to Essex Travel News, due to a police incident in Stanley Road between Chesterfield Avenue and Thundersley Church Road.

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A spokesman for Essex Police confirmed the closures were related to a fire in Church Road earlier this morning.

Crews were called to the road in the early hours of the morning following reports of a fire.

They worked hard to prevent the fire spreading to the adjoining property.

The property remains habitable, firefighters say, other than a bit of heat damage to the exterior.

The cause is currently unknown.

A spokesman for Essex Fire and Rescue Service said this morning: “We were called to a garage fire in Church Road, Benfleet today at 1.55am.

“Crews from Rayleigh Weir, Basildon, Leigh, and Orsett attended and fully extinguished the fire by 3.27am.

“Crews worked hard to prevent any serious damage to the adjoining property.

“An investigation will be carried out to establish the cause.”

Essex Police was called by colleagues in Essex Fire and Rescue Service to the incident in Church Road, Benfleet, shortly before 2am this morning.

A spokesman for the force said: "A garage was said to be on fire. That incident was dealt with by the fire service. 

"We await the results of an investigation into the cause of the fire.

"Anyone with information on the incident should submit a report online at essex.police.uk or use the 'Live Chat' button to speak to an online operator between 7am-11pm.

"Please quote incident 69 of 24 June. 

"You can also call us on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."