ONE of the New Forest's busiest roads was closed today after a furniture workshop was destroyed by fire.
The thatched building - a former school - is next to the A35 Christchurch to Lyndhurst road.
Police closed the road after thick smoke started drifting across the car-riageway.
The blaze broke out at the Old School House, Hinton Admiral, shortly before 2am and took more than three hours to bring under control.
Firefighters removed much of the thatch, but were unable to prevent the single-storey building being destroyed.
A witness said today: "What's left is just a smoking shell.''
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