THE owners of a business which was "completely destroyed" in a devastating fire in Rochford say their life's work has "gone up in smoke". 

On Christmas Eve, Essex Fire were called to Stambridge, in Rochford, after reports of fire involving a number of industrial units.

Clouds of black smoke billowed across south Essex as the flames ripped through warehouses on the industrial site.

Essex Fire has since confirmed a cause is still yet to be determined, with the investigation still ongoing.

It believed some of the businesses impacted include a furniture outlet site, Autodynamics, Rotec Vehicle Services, and the factory for Commercial PSV Limited.

Devastated Brad Ayling who runs Commercial PSV Limited with his dad said their "life’s work went up in smoke" during the fire. 

In a heartbreaking post he said: "We are trying to be proactive and get going again.

"The main priority is to get a building so that all our incredible team can crack back on with the restart.

"If anyone knows of and big building available at 5000sq feet plus I’d be grateful."

At its peak, eight crews and about 80 firefighters were at the scene tackling the flames as well as protecting the units nearby.

Fire crews from Southend, Leigh, Chelmsford, Rayleigh Weir, Grays, Basildon, Corringham and Rochford were all called.

Crews urged nearby residents to close their windows and doors due to the amount of smoke the fire was producing.

Some reported seeing the bellowing smoke for miles from the incident, across south Essex and even in the Maldon area.

The area was cordoned off by the police as the fire was extinguished.

Firefighters used aerial ladder platforms to pour water on the fire from above as well as drones to get a live overview of the fire from the sky.

It took around four hours for the fire to be put out by Essex Fire and several firefighters remained at the scene into the late evening to finish extinguishing hot spots.