Fire crews have spent more than 24 hours at the scene of a house fire in Oxfordshire.

About 75 firefighters from across the county tackled the blaze in Buckland, after it was reported at 11.45am yesterday.

Neighbour Cliff Moon, 66, said: “It’s the prettiest chocolate box cottage in the village. It is a lovely old thatch with a long history.

“There was a lot of smoke and a lot of fire engines here.

“What I have heard is the owners have gone away on holiday. They had just finished refurbishing it and had not moved in."

Neighbours helped to remove furniture from the cottage in Buckland Road as the fire took hold.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service said the operation had been hampered by strong winds which caused the fire to spread.

Incident commander Barry Stockford said: “The initial actions by crews and neighbours saved a lot of the household contents.”

Nobody was injured in the fire. A spokesman for the fire service said firefighters were still at the scene.