KARL Mitchell-Shead, 27, shot footage of the blaze at the council building in Crowmarsh Gifford at about 7.15am on his digital camera.

By 7pm last night it had been viewed more than 6,900 times on YouTube and was shown on news bulletins, as well as the Oxford Mail liveblog.

Mr Mitchell-Shead, from Wallingford, who filmed the footage while on his way to work in London, said: “We woke up to the sound of sirens, which we didn’t think a great deal of.

“I continued to work as normal and when I crossed Wallingford bridge I saw a huge inferno on the other side of the river and realised it was the council offices.

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“When I arrived I noticed half the building had been devastated by the fire and the other half was well and truly ablaze.”

The Rowland Close resident, director of event firework company Illusion Fireworks, saw fire crews tacking the blaze with an aerial platform and said: “I noticed incredible damage around the foyer where the fire had started.

“I was really shocked to see such an enormous and well-known building on fire.”

Oxford Mail:

  • Karl Mitchell-Shead

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