Shropshire Star reader Isabel Birkett took this picture of the blaze at 10.30pm

Firefighters had to battle to get water to an isolated country home after a blaze broke out.

Today fire chiefs urged people living in the countryside to think about the consequences of an emergency.

About 30 firefighters were forced to rig up a relay to ferry the water several hundred metres up the hill from the nearest country lane to the property at Wern Ddu, near Trefonen, Oswestry, after the fire broke out last night.

Large fire appliances were unable to use the narrow private track to the house and a specialist off road vehicle had to be brought in from Church Stretton on the other side of the county.

But even it got stuck at one time as heavy rain made ground conditions treacherous.

Support The alarm was raised just after 8pm yesterday as the couple who live at the house were hosting a party. They all got out safely.

The first firefighters on the scene were two crews from Oswestry and incident commander Paul Plant.

Back up appliances from Llanfyllin and Chirk, smaller and more able to deal with the narrow lanes, were called in from across the Welsh border along with the off-road vehicle, a water bowser from Bridgnorth and incident support from Tweedale.

Mr Plant said: “It was a severe fire.Getting water to the property was a nightmare, even the specialist vehicle got stuck at one point.

“The householder had put his heart and soul into renovating the house. However, he is being very philosophical saying that he, his wife and their neighbours, who were at a party they were hosting, are safe and that is what matters.”