A MASSIVE blaze which ripped through a row of Abergavenny shops early today may have been caused by a discarded cigarette.

Firefighters battled for more than three hours to control the blaze which destroyed Iceland's store in Cibi Walk.

Nearby Partners Stationery, Peacocks and Boston Pine were also badly hit. King Street and Queen Street were closed this morning while experts checked the safety of the buildings.

The alarm was raised at about 2.30am by a police patrol, said Inspector Richard Brake.

He said: "The fire quickly spread to a number of retail premises in the area."

Fire crews using eight fire engines, two water dowsers and two hydraulic platforms brought the blaze under control just before 4am but some were still on site throughout the morning.

Station officer Mark Francis said: "It looks as though a discarded cigarette in a wheelie bin at the back of the buildings started the fire and the consequences of that were massive."

Mr Francis said thousands of gallons of water were used to fight the fire. He added: "It was a big fire which escalated so fast."

Inspector Brake was warning motorists to expect disruption as a result of the street closures.

Iceland, which started with one shop in 1970, now has 760 stores around the UK and is part of The Big Food Group.

The roofs of Peacocks, Partners Stationery and Boston Pine were severely damaged while Peacocks also suffered smoke damage.

Jason Kennard, manager of Partners, said: "I got here about 1.10am and the fire seemed contained but then there was a massive flame from Iceland and that was a big shock."

He said there had been a smaller fire a few months ago which he claimed had also been caused by a cigarette.

Amy Hill, who lives nearby, said: "I saw the fire about 1am. The street was filled with black smoke and it smelt really bad. The firemen were there straight away and they did a superb job.: