Probe continues into cause of severe fire at Market Drayton farmhouse

An investigation was continuing today after a farmhouse in north Shropshire was gutted by a fire.

About 40 firefighters battled the 'severe' blaze at the privately owned property, off the A53, at Ternhill in Market Drayton, for more than six hours on Saturday.

The blaze was reported to the emergency services by a neighbour at about 5.30am and flames were seen coming from the roof by the time fire crews had reached the scene.

Nobody was in the property at the time of the fire but its owner was called to the scene after being alerted by friends.

Fire chiefs said they had the blaze under control within an hour but some of the six fire crews who attended remained at the scene damping down.

Fire investigation teams are still gathering evidence to try and establish the likely cause of the blaze, which engulfed two halves of the ground floor, first floor and the roof.

Scott Hurford, incident commander for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The crews were met with a severe fire and flames coming through the roof of the property. The house was fully developed in fire and we had six fire engines and one with a water ladder to deal with the situation.

"It is a detached two-storey farmhouse and basically the building is in two halves, of which a significant amount of damage has been caused, but we have managed to save a lot of the contents. An investigation into the cause is under way."