A HUGE fire ripped through a crane at a docks in south Essex.

Essex firefighters were called to reports of a fire involving a crane at Tilbury docks on Saturday afternoon.

On arrival at 3.55pm, crews confirmed that a dockside crane was completely alight.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

The burnt out crane

A spokesman for the fire service said: "To prevent fuel reaching the open water, a sandbank was created using an on-site mechanical digger.

"The fire was extinguished completely by 5.30pm.

"We believe the fire was caused accidentally by an electrical fault."