Thatched roof destroyed by fire (From Oxford Mail)

Thatched roof destroyed by fire in Swalcliffe near Banbury

12:09pm Sunday 17th March 2013 in News

FIREFIGHTERS worked through the night to tackle a blaze that destroyed the roof of a thatched cottage.

The occupants of Manor Cottage in Swalcliffe near Banbury left the property before the fire spread through the roof at about 4.30pm on Friday.At its peak, 12 fire engines from Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire were tackling the blaze.

An adjorning property was damaged by smoke and water, but the fire was contained.

Incident commander Peter Graham said: “The fire spread quickly through the thatched roof and the crews worked hard to bring the fire under control. Thankfully there was no one injured during the incident.”

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is investigating the cause of the fire.