A MAJOR blaze has razed a house to the ground, leaving a family without a home at Christmas.

Villagers from the close-knit community of Woodgreen, near Fordingbridge, watched in horror on Tuesday evening as flames ripped through the large, detached property in Brook Lane, near the common.

Daily Echo:

Almost 100 firemen from Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire battled the blaze well into the night and spent hours protecting the nearby thatched homes from the sparks and embers that were carried by the wind. One Woodgreen woman said: “It is an awful thing to happen. I don’t know where the family have gone but I know they had friends nearby. The people in the village feel for them.”

It is believed that much loved family have lived in the village for almost 20 years.

Stewart Hall, chairman of Woodgreen Parish Council, said the villagers were “truly sad” for the family.

“They are lovely people,” he said.

“They were out at the time the fire began, but returned when it was raging.

"It is very sad. We are all very, very upset about it - it is difficult to imagine the sense of loss they must feel."

“The man is a businessman in Salisbury, and the family have lived in the village for a long time. We have a very close-knit community and I know they were offered a place to stay last night in the village.”