A fire in a food storage building at an Indian restaurant in Whitton saw the high street closed this morning.

Firefighters from Heston were called at about 10.30am to Jolly’s Tandoori restaurant in Hounslow Road, near the junction with Nelson Road.

They said the fire was not suspicious and no damage had been caused to the restaurant itself.

Owner Afaz Miah, 31, said he got a call from a member of staff this morning telling him the outdoor food storage unit had gone up in flames.

He said: “As soon as I got the call, I came down here straight away. Nobody was here as we do not open until midday.

“First the alarm went off and then people saw the smoke and called the fire brigade.

“Firefighters are not yet sure of the cause but I have been on the phone to the insurance company and it looks like it has caused about £25,000 worth of damage.”

He added that as well as damage from the flames, the building and his stock had suffered water damage.

The food storage garage contained seven fridges and chest freezers, some of which were visibly destroyed.

The roof of the building was also ruined, with Mr Miah estimating the cost to repair between £10,000 and £15,000.

He added: “So much of our food has gone to waste but we are going to try to open tonight anyway.

“This is going to cost us a lot of money.”

Firefighters told Mr Miah they believe the fire originated from a fault with one of the fridges.

Abdul Awal, who works at the restaurant, was first on the scene and said when he arrived he tried to put out the fire with buckets of water.

He said: “There were big flames coming out of it.”

While firefighters tackled the blaze, Whitton High Street remained closed to traffic in both directions, with buses delayed.