MORE than 70 Hampshire firefighters have extinguished a blaze which tore through the roof of a thatched cottage.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service mobilised appliances from across the county when the alarm was raised shortly after 1pm yesterday. First on the scene in Little London, just to the north east of Andover were fire crews from Andover, who found the roof of a two-storey domestic property well-alight on arrival.

Pumps were also mobilised from Sutton Scotney, Stockbridge, Overton, Basingstoke, Kingsclere, Redbridge in Southampton, Beaulieu, and Alton.

The Multi-Role Vehicle from Eastleigh, Winchester's Special Equipment Unit, Basingstoke's Water Carrier - as well as the Incident Command Unit and the Fire and Emergency Support Service (FESS), which is delivered by trained British Red Cross volunteers, were also on the scene.

Neighbouring fire and rescue services also mobilised appliances from Ludgershall, Amesbury and Pewsey in Wiltshire, and from Newbury in Berkshire.

During the operation four jets, seven hose reels, and 50 sets of breathing apparatus were used to bring the blaze under control.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service area manager Andy Kettle paid tribute to firefighters.

He said: "The roof was well alight when crews first arrived on the scene. They made valiant attempts to prevent the fire spreading further, but as with most thatched property fires unfortunately the roof had to be removed. Working with crews from our neighbouring fire and rescue services, we concentrated on salvaging the rest of the house. Fifty per cent of the first floor was damaged by smoke and water, however this incident would have been much worse had crews not acted so quickly and efficiently."

Fire investigation officers concluded that the incident had been caused by sparks or burning brands issuing from the chimney and landing on the thatched roof, as all other possible causes of ignition were discounted during a thorough inspection of the fire scene.