A fire that gutted two floors of a flat in Chorleywood will continue damaging the shopping parade long after the flames have been extinguished, say local business owners.

Firefighters had to use an aerial platform to battle the blaze as it burned through the roof of the apartment above a newsagents in New Parade on Saturday morning.

Six crews from stations including Rickmansworth, Watford, Garston, and St Albans attended at 7.30am, taking about an hour to extinguish the fire.

As well as forcing the newsagent to relocate to an empty unit around the corner, the delicatessen below has been closed by the thousands of litres of water that streamed through its ceiling.

Lauren Morgan, from Morgan's Deli, said: "I was on my way to open up and started getting phone calls from people saying 'you'd better get down here'.

"When I arrived my main concern was that no one was hurt or stuck in there, and then it was a case of standing there and watching it happen.

"All the water came through, damaging the walls, floors, ceiling, equipment and stock. Everything. It's just a mess.

"We're going to be closed for a couple months, it's a major set back. We're hoping insurance will cover loss of profits and things like that."

Fire crews initially sprayed a jet hose through the front window of the burning flats while fire fighters with breathing masks went in through the back to fight the blaze from inside.

An investigation has since discovered the fire started in the hallway of the residential flats. The cause of the fire has been recorded as accidental.

As the crews worked to fight the fire the cross roads leading into the village centre were shut, until about 2pm, meaning the shops were inaccessible.

Morag Watkins, secretary of the Chorleywood Business Association, said: "No one was thinking 'oh my goodness I'm losing business' but people couldn't come to the shops.

"At the grocers, nobody was buying anything big because they couldn't carry it to their car.

"More worrying though is the months of repairs that will have to take place, which will have a knock on effect for everyone.

"Life is tough in retail at the moment due to online shopping and big, out of town shopping centres. The newsagent is now being run from an empty shop around the corner.

"The delicatessen is full of water, so I don't know when that will reopen. They will have to put up scaffolding to fix the roof."

This video, taken by Chorleywood Residents Association, shows the extent of the blaze.