A HAMPSHIRE family had a miraculous escape when fire ripped through the thatched roof of a historic country cottage early today. More than 60 firefighters using nine pumping appliances and two special appliances fought the blaze at the 400-year old listed home in Beauworth village, near Winchester.

Amazingly, it took just 45 minutes for the crews to bring the fire under control and prevent it from destroying the cottage, owned by 86-year-old Mrs Joan Morrish, who was in bed asleep at the time.

Her son, 60-year-old Tony Morrish, raised the alarm and started fighting the blaze himself with a hose from the garden until the fire brigade arrived.

His son, 19-year-old Anthony, was also in bed, but also fortunately got out of the cottage safely.

The fire, the second of its kind with-in three days, has sparked a warning from the fire service to all owners of thatched buildings throughout Hampshire to have fire safety checks carried out.

Station Officer Mark Dawkins warned that someone could be killed, seriously injured or suffer the total loss of their home unless proper checks are undertaken.

At the weekend a similar fire gutted a thatched building at Brockenhurst, in the New Forest.

The safety warning was backed by Mr Morrish, who ex-plained that the fire at his home started after he lit the wood burner to heat his water system.

The heat from the fire ignited timbers going into the roof and set the thatch alight.

"I have fire extinguishers, but they were not good enough to tackle this fire, which is why I used the hosepipe," he said.

"We are very lucky and fortunately my mother's carer arrived just in time to get her up. She has been temporarily housed by social services until we get things sorted."

It is not yet known how much it will cost to repair the damage, but all the furniture in the cottage was saved.

"We need to put out a very serious warning to peo-ple who own thatched cottages to make sure the timbers going into the chimney are in a sound and good condition," said Mr Dawkins.

"Checks on all electrical equipment in the roof must also be carried out by a qualified electrician and steps taken to ensure the roof space is not cluttered."

Mr Dawkins praised the firefighters for their speedy actions in bringing the fire under control.

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