A FIRE engulfed a Hampshire sawmill causing the main building to collapse and destroying thousands of pounds worth of machinery.

More than 80 firefighters from across the county tackled the blaze at family-run R F Giddings and Co sawmill in the New Forest.

The fire was spotted just after 5pm on Saturday by a member of the public who saw smoke coming from the Ringwood Road yard.

Fanned by a strong wind the fire took hold of the main production line and mill building before spreading to adjoining buildings causing their virtual collapse.

At the height of the fire a gas canister exploded and flames were seen shooting from the roof of the steel shed building. Thick black plumes of smoke were seen from several miles away.

Fire investigators and scenes of crime officers from Hampshire police spent yesterday examining the mangled wreckage in a bid to discover what started the fire that began while no one was on site.

Arson has not been ruled out.

It is thought investigations at the site could take several days as the building is structurally unsafe, preventing officers from examining inside the shed.

Firefighters also remained on site yesterday to guard against the risk of the fire re-igniting in the smouldering remains of the shed.

The mill is run by the fourth generation of the Giddings family who were also caught up in a bomb blast in South Africa in 1998.

One of the company's directors Tony Giddings was holidaying in Cape Town with his family when a bomb ripped through the Planet Hollywood restaurant where they were eating. More than 20 people were injured including Mr Gidding's son Jacob and daughter Laura, then eight, who had to have a foot amputated.

Since the bombing the family, backed by the Daily Echo, has been campaigning for a better standard of prosthetic limb given to amputees through the National Health Service.

Laura's uncle Robert Giddings who is also a director along with his sister Lynda and brother John, was yesterday surveying the charred remains of the mill that employs about 85 people, none of whom are expected to be made redundant as a result of the fire.

He said: "The person who saw the smoke came to get me as I live adjacent to the mill. No one was here on Saturday so at this time we don't know how it started.

"It has of course been upsetting for the family. It is too early to say what the cost or what the extent of the effect on business will be. We will be working with insurance assessors over the coming days."

Mr Giddings said the mill would be open for business today as other production buildings including fence, gate and wood treatment production had been unaffected.