UPDATE: Fire at Nottinghamshire County Council HQ is now out as crews scale down operation

Twelve fire crews were tackling the first-floor blaze at Nottinghamshire County Council’s headquarters at one stage, although Hucknall crews were not among them.

NFRS has now tweeted: “We are scaling down the incident as the fire is now out.

"We are continuing to do checks inside the County Hall to ensure there are no pockets of fire in the building and likely to be at the scene until late evening.

"Thankfully, all persons have been accounted for and there have been no reported injuries.

“A fire investigation will now commence to determine the cause of the fire.

“Thank you for your patience and cooperation whilst we have been dealing with this incident.

Anthony May, council chief executive, said: “The fire alarm sounded at 11.35am and we followed our fire evacuation procedures and fire wardens cleared the building.

"The safety of our staff is our priority and the arrangements are in place to ensure that they can get home safely.

“We would like to thank the fire and rescue service for its swift response and our staff for their quick evacuation.”