SQUATTERS caused trouble at a derelict building by setting fire to furniture on Tuesday evening.

Fire crews from Caversham Road and Whitley Wood were called to the former Richer Sounds store on Oxford Road at around 6.45pm.

It is believed the blaze was started at the disused site by squatters who were attempting to keep themselves warm.

Firefighters were on the scene for around 50 minutes and they used breathing apparatus to tackle the fire.

A spokesman for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were called to a fire at the old Richer Sounds building on the Oxford Road.

"It was squatters. They had broken in and set fire to some soft furnishing. It is a disused premises, but it could obviously have been more serious."