Firefighters extinguish Porlock Weir thatched cottage blaze

A fire has been extinguished after crews tackled a blaze in two thatched cottages on the Somerset coast.

They were called out at about 19:00 BST on Monday to the properties in Porlock Weir.

Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) said firefighters had been stripping thatch from the houses to try and contain the blaze.

Two properties were severely damaged by fire, and one by smoke, and crews have now left the scene.

Locals were warned to keep windows and doors shut due to "large amounts of smoke".

"The fire is suspected to have started in the chimney that spread to the thatch," a spokesperson for DSFRS said.

Crews left the scene at about 15:00 BST on Tuesday.

The South Western Ambulance Service said it had sent hazardous-area response teams to the incident, but nobody needed hospital treatment.

Fire personnel from across west Somerset and north Devon were mobilised with engines sent from Barnstaple, Ilfracombe, Appledore, Combe Martin, Lynton, Woolacombe, Street and Burnham-on-Sea, among others.

Just before 20:40 BST on Monday, the fire service called for more crews to be sent to the scene after the initial batch of vehicles arrived.

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: "We were called at 17.28 BST on Monday to an incident in the Porlock area.

"We sent a double-crewed land ambulance, an operations officer and four hazardous-area response teams."

The fire service said people living in thatched properties should be aware of how fires can spread quickly and are difficult to extinguish.

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