A property developer says safety is its top priority after two people were rescued from a huge fire at the site of its £750million development this morning.

Dramatic footage obtained by the Chronicle showed a construction worker airlifted to safety via a crane against a backdrop of flames and thick black smoke after a fire broke out at Station Hill around 11.38am.

It is the second blaze at the Reading town centre construction site in five months. 

Details about how the fire started remain unknown at this time.

A spokesman for developer Lincoln MGT said safety is “our first priority”.

The firm is building more than 500 new homes and office spaces at the site in a project worth £750m in partnership with Reading Borough Council.

This is the second fire at the development. There was a huge blaze at the site back in July, though no injuries were reported.

At the time, the developer said the fire was “quickly contained” and said there would be no delays to the project.

In a statement in July they said: “We can confirm that there was a fire on-site which was quickly contained with all teams evacuated safely.

"The evacuation protocol was successfully deployed, and the construction teams have the matter fully in hand.”

Today just hours after the second fire in five months, Developers Lincoln MGT, said safety was “our first priority”.

In a statement to the Chronicle, a spokesman said: “At 11:38am today Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service were notified of a fire near Station Hill in Reading.

The developer has now said: “We can confirm that a fire took place on the Station Hill construction site this morning.

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"We activated our fire emergency plans immediately, the emergency services were notified and are currently on site.

"The safety of those on site and the wider public is always our first priority and the site has been evacuated as a result.

"As soon as we have more information we will provide an update.”