A BANGER racing enthusiast said that he has lost years' worth of stock after his yard in Netley went up in flames.

More than 30 firefighters were called to the blaze at the car yard in Hound Farm in Hound Road on December 14 just before 4am.

A spokesperson from Hampshire Fire and Rescue said: "The fire involved 30 cars, 2 lorries and 2 containers."

Seven crews from across Hampshire attended the blaze and Hound road was temporally sealed off .

Michael Rawell, 51, from Titchfield who owns the yard said: "When I got the call I felt panicked straight away and I hoped they were wrong and that it wasn't my yard.

Daily Echo:

"It's so upsetting.

"I have had this yard for more than 20 years and myself and my two sons have put a lot of time into this.

"Whenever I'm not busy I will always be here.

"This has caused so much damage and we have lost years worth of stock.

"You can't put a price on what we have lost.

"Thousands of pounds have gone down the drain."

Daily Echo:

Michael added: "We are pretty sure that it was a welding accident, just a spark that has smouldered and got bigger and bigger."

Michael's son Adam Rawell, 25, a warehouse worker from Sarisbury Green said: "I woke up to a call at 5am and when I heard the news I was in total panic.

"When I got to the yard as soon as I saw it my heart sank.

"I am completely gutted.

"There was so much smoke."

Adam has been banger racing and fixing up cars with his dad at the yard from the age of 13.

He said: "Our racing community is such a wide community.

Daily Echo:

"I have had so many people contact me about this.

"The news has hurt all day."

A spokesperson from Hampshire Fire and Rescue said: "We sent 7 pumps, with crews from Hightown, Hamble, Redbridge and Botley. Specialist vehicles also attended from Eastleigh.

"Six firefighters in BA and 2 jets tackled the fire

"The fire was out at 6:13am and the stop came in at 8:51am."

A spokesperson from Hampshire Police said: "We were made aware of this fire by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, however they dealt with the incident and there was no further police requirement after."