A HAMPSHIRE pub will be closed for up to six months following a devastating fire that destroyed 75 per cent of the building.

Most of the White Swan at Swan Green, Lyndhurst, was reduced to a charred ruin after flames ripped through the roof of the 18th century pub.

Manager Sue Maloney and her son James, who lived on the premises, escaped unhurt and raised the alarm.

However, the 90 firefighters who tackled the blaze were unable to prevent the flames destroying the back of the building, including the kitchens.

The White Swan employed eight people, mostly part-timers.

Landlord Paul Knight said: "We're likely to be closed for between three and six months because we've lost the kitchens, the toilets and the restaurant area. The pub looks all right from the front but all the back has gone."

Mr Knight was unable to say how much it would cost to rebuild the pub but he hoped it would reopen in time to capture some of the summer tourist trade in Lyndhurst.

Lyndhurst councillor Pat Wyeth said the White Swan had been experiencing an increase in popularity.

"Things went a bit quiet there for a while but I understand that business was picking up following recent improvements," said Cllr Wyeth.

Flames engulfed the picturesque pub in the early hours of Saturday morning. No one was injured in the blaze, which was caused by an electrical fault in the roof and took more than four hours to put out.

Police closed the A35 Lyndhurst to Christchurch road for several hours.

Crews from 11 stations in the Southampton area were sent to the scene. Luckily none of the sparks from the blaze landed on a row of thatched cottages opposite the pub.

The building was subsequently boarded up and a row of picnic benches from the pub garden were placed across the entrance to the car park.