Part of Llanelli town centre's main shopping street was sealed off today after a large fire broke out there overnight. The fire was in an empty unit that once operated as Bright House, next to Shoe Zone, in Stepney Street, with the fire taking hold at the rear of the premises which is a three-storey structure.

The fire service commented that it was too early at this stage to determine the cause of the fire. You can keep up to date with the latest Carmarthenshire news by signing up to the local newsletter here.

A spokesperson for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service told WalesOnline said this morning: "We had a call at 21.50 to a fire on Stepney Street, we had five pumps in attendance and other specialist appliances, we had a call to stop at 8.32am on the morning of Saturday, November 4. It was a three-storey building which was destroyed by fire, it was an unused shop. Crews are still on scene dampening down."

Smoke was seen billowing into the air across the town with local residents' comments on Facebook including 'very sad scenes from the town centre. Looks a very bad fire. Another blow for an already struggling Llanelli' and that the site was 'in a hell of a mess'.

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The town has suffered a number of shop closures over recent years, resulting in a number of empty units along the main shopping streets, with national brands such as Iceland and Superdrug pulling out. But new plans have been revealed to see two empty units in the town's shopping centre transformed into a large, late-night food court.

These units were previously filled by retail giants Sports Direct and Argos. But now, it is hoped, that new life can be breathed into the empty units and the shopping centre in general through the food court. Find out more about this here.