YEARS of legal work went up in smoke when fire broke out at a York solicitors' firm today.
Thousands of case files were wrecked by flames which reached up to 20ft high during the fire in a documents store at Corries' offices, off Walmgate.
Five people had to be evacuated from nearby flats as firefighters battled to stop the blaze from spreading to their homes.
The residents returned after crews successfully doused the flames, but the store was completely gutted, leaving piles of charred and ruined paperwork within the skeleton of the building. Station Officer Jez Rushworth, of York Station, said the cause of the fire could not be established until electricity and structural experts had made sure the store was safe. But he said police would be investigating.
Karen Boldison, office manager at Corries, said thousands of archive files intended to be kept for at least six years had been lost by the personal injury firm.
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