RON Skinner and Sons in Tredegar went up in flames last night as a devastating fire destroyed the popular car dealership.

Floods of local people attended the scene the morning after, Saturday August 17, to see the damage, where the entire unit’s ceiling had collapsed, and black soot laced the building.

Burnt cars lined the dealership, all of which would have had less than 20,000 miles on the clock according to employee Adam Lewis, who works there as a mechanic.

“The hundreds of cars inside the showroom would have been worth on average £20,000 each”, said 25-year-old Adam.

He along with his colleagues were among those who came to visit and were shocked at how bad the damage was.

This drone footage shows the scorched cars that were indoors during the fire (Image: Eddy Blanche)

At around midday the owner of Ron Skinner and Sons, Philip Skinner attended the dealership with his son, who was at the scene teary eyed.

The family were denied entry by emergency services until the fire was out completely, but were later let inside at around 2pm.

Water pumps lined the road where firefighters had been using water from the lake at the local park, Bryn Bach, to ease the flames.

In nearby residential areas, families were washing their windows, which were black from the fumes and smoke.

One lady, Trudy Howell, 74, whose house backs onto the dealership’s unit, was picking up pieces of rubble, which looked like pieces of rubber from her back garden.

She explained how through the night she could hear glass smashing and cars exploding.

Other residents were brushing the soot off their driveways and cutting the grass in their gardens that had been laced with black.

At midday, you could still see smoke coming from the building and firefighters continuing to use hoses from the outside in.

The smell of smoke got thicker as you made your way towards the building, walkers by and cyclists were coughing if they got too close.

Local people were expressing how devastated they are for the Ron Skinner family, and for the community, who have relied on the dealership for work and car services for over 30 years.

Emergency services remain at the scene and are investigating how exactly the fire started.