Watch aerial footage of Odeon cinema fire damage as Hartlepool Borough Council reveals Raby Road could be closed for weeks

Firefighters battled throughout the night to contain flames at the derelict Odeon building, in Raby Road, Hartlepool, after the blaze erupted at around 11pm on Saturday.

Roads were shut and residents of Joicey Court, at the rear of the premises, were evacuated on Sunday on safety grounds.

Hartlepool Borough Council has now confirmed that a stretch of Raby Road between its junctions with Avenue Road, York Road and Belk Street could be closed to traffic for “several weeks”.

Peter Nixon, the council’s traffic and road safety team leader, said in a statement on Monday: “As you will be aware an emergency road closure has been implemented on Raby Road due to the fire at the Odeon cinema.

“At this point in time it is not known how long the closure will be required.

“However, it is anticipated that this could be for several weeks.

“The closure is in place on Raby Road at York Road, Raby Road at Avenue Road and Raby Road at Belk Street.”

Aerial footage of the damage to the Grade II-listed building has now emerged courtesy of a Mail reader.

No-one is believed to have been injured during the blaze and an investigation into its cause is now under way.

Eight Cleveland Fire Brigade engines from as far away as Saltburn were present at the incident’s peak.

Crews monitored the building throughout Sunday and the brigade have confirmed that “no signs of hot spots or smoke were found” following an assessment early on Monday morning.

A statement added: “Investigations will take place as per our usual procedure.”

While it is more than 40 years since the building was used as a cinema, it is still widely referred to in town as the Odeon.

It later became a nightclub before closing down around the turn of the century.

Widely condemned as a blot on Hartlepool’s landscape, there are tentative plans to bulldoze the privately-owned building and create a “community park”.

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