Police and fire officers investigating a major fire that broke out in a shopping centre in Dumfries, Scotland, have ruled out arson.

The fire, which broke out around 6pm last Saturday at the Brantano shoe store in The Peel Centre, took around four hours and 40 firefighters to put out.

It was classified as ‘serious’ by Dumfries and Galloway fire service, causing significant damage to four shops in the precinct. Clothing stores JJB Sports and TK Maxx were both affected, although the extent of the damage is not yet clear, while nearby shops Matalan and Pets at Home suffered smoke damage, a spokesman from the fire service told info4fire.

A Dumfries police spokesman added: “This was a serious fire which caused fairly significant damage, but we are not treating it as suspicious.”

There are no casualties reported, but a number of pets had to be evacuated from the pet store.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.