A serious fire has partially destroyed a computer research centre at the University of Southampton. The fire, which began at 6.30am Sunday morning, has now been put out and emergency services have begun investigations into what started the blaze.

A spokeswoman for the University told the Reg: "Fortunately the centre was empty, the investigation is ongoing but at the moment there is no suggestion of foul play." The University is working with emergency services to assess damage and investigate causes. It is likely to be a few days before the full extent of damage to the building, and people's research, is known.

Pic courtesy of Southampton University

More than 100 firefighters spent most of yesterday fighting the fire. Local residents were warned to stay inside and avoid contact with smoke from the fire but the university said there was no evidence of the smoke containing anything worse than normal building smoke.

The Mountbatten building houses labs and offices for the Optoelectronics research centre and the School of Electronics and Computer Science.

More details on the University website here, and on the BBC here. ®

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