A VALLEYS town centre was closed to traffic today after a fire left a row of shops unsafe - and that could mean extra congestion for nearby Gwent towns.

A passer-by alerted the occupants of two flats above the shops in Hanbury Road, Bargoed, to the blaze at around 3am yesterday. All had managed to escape before the fire service arrived.

The fire affected three shops and three flats above them, one of which was unoccupied. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Sergeant Ian Gough, of Bargoed police station, said the buildings were now structurally unsafe.

The road was closed to traffic and pedestrians yesterday, but police hoped to open one footway late yesterday.

Sergeant Gough said: "Today and possibly tomorrow Hanbury Road will be closed. There are diversion signs in operation, and larger vehicles are being asked to avoid the area.

"We are asking everyone to avoid the area if they can because there will be congestion." Most traffic will be able to travel through nearby streets, but large vehicles are being diverted through Aberbargoed.

Part of the town centre was closed in January when masonry fell from a building on New Year's Day.