Fire services today extinguished a blaze at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium.

The fire started shortly before noon at the rear terrace on the seventh floor of the stadium where construction work was being carried out.

The flames were put out within 40 minutes by three fire engines and an aerial appliance, a Manchester Fire Service spokeswoman said.

A spokesman for Manchester United, who face Sunderland at Old Trafford on Good Friday, said: "It did not affect the rest of the stadium. It was just a minor fire and only a couple of fire engines attended.

"It was put out very quickly and nobody was evacuated. The damage looks superficial, there's probably a bit of black wood somewhere.

"We're just waiting for the report from the constructors. We might get that later today. There were no knock-on effects for the rest of the stadium."