A BLAZE that engulfed a New Forest sawmill is believed to have started by accident.

Fire investigation chiefs have revealed that the fire probably started after sparks from welding equipment or power saws ignited sawdust.

The inferno at R.F. Giddings & Co on the Ringwood Road on late Saturday afternoon destroyed much of the main production line and mill buildings.

Assistant Divisional Officer Dave Lock, from Hampshire Fire and Rescue, told the Daily Echo how it seemed an accident was the most likely cause.

He said: "There were some hot works carried out in the morning of Saturday.

"In the afternoon everyone left the site but some of the sparks from either cutting or welding equipment may have landed on some wood cuttings and, unseen, continued to smoulder until they ignited after everyone had gone.

"It would have started as a small fire but, with the site empty, off she went."

Mr Lock said that the police, forensic scientists and insurance company investigators who all arrived on site after the blaze agreed with the fire investigation team's conclusions.

The blaze, which started in the main cutting shed at the sawmill at Ringwood Road, Bartley, was fanned by strong northerly winds.

It quickly spread to adjoining buildings which contained re-sawing and secondary processing machinery.

Eighty firefighters from across the county tackled the fire which totally destroyed the main production line and some of the re-sawing line, causing both buildings to collapse.

The mill, which has about 85 employees, has reopened for business because other production buildings were not affected.

A director of the family-run business declined to comment on the investigation team's conclusions yesterday.