The cause of a fire in a Derbyshire church building is yet to be identified, after a joint police and fire service investigation was halted due to significant damage and the risk of structural collapse.

Residents near to the former Kilburn Methodist Church were evacuated just after midnight on Friday, as the blaze took hold of the building. 

Six crews from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue brought the flames under control on Chapel Street, dampening down hotspots and handing the scene back to the two-storey building’s owner by 1pm on Friday. 

One neighbour described the scene to Derbyshire Live as “like an inferno” over the 194 year-old building. 

A statement from the fire service said: “A joint fire and police investigation has been unable to determine the cause of a fire at a church on Chapel Street in Kilburn, Belper, due to the scale of the damage and risk of structural collapse.”

The former church closed its doors in 2020 because of the covid pandemic and low attendances, according to council planning documents. It was on the market, advertised as having been given full planning permission for its conversion into flats. 

New pictures shared by the fire service show its roof has been destroyed, with walls turned to rubble.