Firefighters battled for nearly five hours at a thatched cottage blaze in Bedfordshire.

A 999 call was received from Buckinghamshire Fire Service at 00.21 hours, 19 March to a chimney fire at a thatched cottage in Spinney Lane, Aspley Guise, on the Beds/Bucks border. Woburn retained crew were mobilised and were in attendance at 00.32. (Bucks mobilised a crew from Broughton and they were in attendance two minutes earlier).

In addition Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue firefighters from Toddington, Potton, Bedford and Leighton Buzzard attended the scene.

They used an aerial platform and 13 metre ladders to fight the fire and cut away the thatch (which is resistant to water penetration) to get at the source of the fire.

The thatch and upper floor of the property was severely damaged by the blaze. First reports suggested the cause was accidental.