A man (53) has been arrested in Britain over a blaze at a fireworks warehouse in Staffordshire which has left two people missing.

An investigation has been launched into what caused the explosion at the SP Plastics building at an industrial unit in Stafford at around 5:15pm on Thursday.

Police Superintendent Ian Coxhead said: "We have a great deal of sensitive and challenging work to complete in order to allow us to establish the cause of the explosion and the following fire."

A "significant volume of fireworks" was being stored on site, and the unit had been all but destroyed in the ensuing blaze, he added.

A search is due to get under way for the missing people once the premises are considered safe.

"The search and rescue team will make an assessment as to the safety of the building, and a search of the premises will take place in daylight hours," the spokesman said.

Thick plumes of smoke and bursts of fireworks exploding in all directions from the factory - a scene an eyewitness described as "horrendous".

The blaze took three hours to bring under control - 50 firefighters, eight engines and four specialist appliances were on the scene at its height.