NEIGHBOURS in a picturesque village rallied round in a bid to save a family’s possessions from a fire that destroyed a historic thatched cottage.
Investigations continue into the cause of the devastating blaze that ripped through the roof of the 18th-century cottage, called Smugglers, at Sopley on Thursday evening. However, firefighters have been able to rule out anything suspicious.
Firefighters say they salvaged most of the contents of the £850,000 house, but an “intense” fire completely destroyed the roof of the Grade II- listed property on the New Forest border.
The homeowner was forced to watch on helplessly as her cottage burned.
It is understood she spent the night with friends and returned to take stock yesterday.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service incident commander manager Sandy Thompson said: “The firefighters did a fantastic job in salvaging most of the contents of the house whilst fighting the fire from the outside.
“During the fire the chimney stack had become unstable so it wasn’t safe for our crews to fight the fire from inside.
“Unfortunately at thatch fires, once the fire gets into the roof it is very difficult for us to stop it spreading.
“Once the possessions were removed by firefighters into the open, a number of villagers helped carry them to safety.”
Four Hampshire fire crews and three engines from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service attended the property, at the junction of Derritt Lane and the B3347.
Villager Derek Slade recalled: “There was so much smoke out there, you couldn’t even see across the road.
“There were people running all over the place, it appeared really chaotic. Neighbours were trying to get what they could out of the cottage."
Neighbour Dee Liberty-Spark, owner of the village’s Woolpack Pub, said she witnessed the homeowner trying to douse the roof with a garden hose.
Mrs Liberty-Spark, whose thatched pub was gutted by a fire in 2008, added: “I saw her standing there crying, watching the firefighters bringing her possessions out. It reminded me of when I was standing out there watching my possessions being brought out as well.”
As of last night the road outside the cottage remained closed, as there were fears two walls and a chimney could collapse.
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