Watch: Fire breaks out at Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital

A fire has broken out at the site of the old Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital, where some of Britain’s most notorious criminals are held.

Footage shows the blaze at the hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, with smoke billowing from the top of the building.

It’s understood the current hospital site is not affected.

Thames Valley Police are providing support to Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, a spokesman said.

The spokesman said they were attending the scene and assisting with any road closures.

They said: “At this stage there is no impact to the wider road network.”

A spokesman for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are attending a fire at a derelict building on the old Broadmoor Hospital site.

“The current hospital site is not affected. Please stay clear of the area but if you are nearby, please keep windows and doors closed.”

Some of Britain’s most notorious criminals are held at Broadmoor.

Michael Adebowale is an Islamist terrorist and one of two men convicted of murdering Lee Rigby, a British Army soldier, in Woolwich in 2013. He was transferred to the facility in 2014 after reported psychotic episodes.

Kenneth Erskine, known as the Stockwell Strangler, targeted elderly victims in their homes and was found guilty of seven murders in 1988. He was sent to Broadmoor soon after his conviction under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Ian Ball shot several people while attempting to kidnap Princess Anne in 1974. After his arrest, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to Broadmoor after pleading guilty.

Broadmoor has also been home to the likes of David Copeland, a neo-Nazi who killed three and injured dozens in numerous homemade nail bomb attacks in London in 1999.

Peter Sutcliffe, better known as the Yorkshire Ripper, was held at the facility between 1984 and 2016.

Long-term prisoner Charles Bronson began a five-year stay at Broadmoor in 1979, where he tried to strangle another inmate to death and staged a three-day rooftop protest that caused £250,000 worth of damage.