UNIVERSITY of Derby officials and the fire service are working together to discover the cause of a blaze in a student hall of residence.

Firefighters were called to Lonsdale Hall, off Uttoxeter New Road, at 11pm on Sunday after flames were spotted in the shower area of a flat.

A university spokesman said: "The fire resulted in fumes being generated so we moved the handful of students affected into alternative accommodation.

"We are working to help the students return to their own flat again as soon as possible and have launched our own investigation, working with the fire service to determine how the fire started."

After extinguishing the flames, firefighters ventilated the building. They praised the fitting of a smoke alarm inside, which alerted them.