MORE than 90 firefighters tackled a thatched roof blaze in Great Tew on Thursday night.

The fire started in the chimney of a New Road house at about 9.30pm, before spreading to a house next door.

The thatched roof on both homes was destroyed, but firefighters, pictured, stopped the fire spreading to other houses in the terrace.

Ten occupants of the two homes escaped to safety and no-one was injured.

The Rev Bernard Rumbold, 68, who lives in The Vicarage nearby, put four of the residents up for the night.

He said: “Anyone would do it. They are bearing up and getting on. We’re a tough breed, the British.”

He said he was not in when the fire started, but returned to Great Tew at about 10pm.

“When I got back there were several fire engines here – I thought the church had gone up,” he said. “I wish it was the church, rather than people’s homes. It’s devastating for the people who live there. The flames were leaping 20ft above the roof and a lot of smoke.”

The fire service used water from a swimming pool at the back of The Vicarage to tackle the blaze.

Neighbour Jo Jakeman, 41, was yesterday recovering possessions from her water-logged home.

She said: “It isn’t very nice when you see your homes go up.”

Firefighters from 12 crews across Oxfordshire tackled the blaze, which is not being treated as suspicious.

A fire service spokesman said: “Two homes have lost the roof and the first floor. They are extensively damaged.”