Breaking News: The Caledonian Hotel is on fire

It is being reported that the flats above the Caledonian Hotel on Osborne Road in Jesmond have caught on fire.

Emergency services are still currently at the scene after arriving at around 5pm this evening.

Videos of the blaze can be seen on The Newcastle Tab Instagram story.

The Newcastle Tab spoke to a member of staff who works at Billabong bar, the restaurant attached to the hotel, and they told us that fire alarms had been sounding all afternoon.

He said: "We had been hearing alarms since about 1pm, these were false alarms at first but around 5pm we realised there was a problem".

It has not yet been confirmed exactly where the fire is but witnesses at the scene told The Newcastle Tab that fire engines were on the scene and smoke can be seen from all sides of Billabong Bar and the Caledonian Hotel.

One witness said: "Fire can be seen all around the area of Billabong and evacuation was pretty quick."

Another told us: "There are about seven fire engines at the scene along with an incident response unit."

There are police units all the way down Osborne Road, cordoning off the area surrounding the hotel.

The public has been diverted off of Osborne Road, and round the back onto another street to get through.

Both Billabong and Spy Bar are shut all night and all residents have been evacuated.

Sirens can be heard from all over Jesmond, as far as West Jesmond metro.

There are still visible flames coming from the building.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has advised local residents to shut all their windows and doors.

It has not yet been confirmed if everyone made it out of the building safely.

We will report more on this article as we get updates.