A FIRE at a National Trust estate near Faringdon has "devastated" a family business and damaged rented cottages.

The "severe" blaze broke out overnight at a furniture workshop in The Buscot and Coleshill Estates, which required 50 firefighters to tackle. 

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to hose down the flames at 4.32am this morning, which gutted the stone building in the rural village of Coleshill. 

Incident commander and group manager Kerry Blair said: “This severe fire has devastated a family-run business, but thanks to the swift actions of fire crews from across two counties who worked tirelessly to make an attack on the fire and to secure a water supply, we were able to limit fire spread to safely control this incident. 

"Fire crews will be on scene all day damping down, and representatives from National Trust are already in attendance to manage the welfare of their tenants."

The service released photos of the extent of destruction as daylight set in this morning, showing the blackened shell of the workshop building. 

Chris Tutt, spokesman for National Trust, added: "We are not yet aware of the full extent of the fire but there were no injuries and everybody got out unharmed. 

"We have made arrangements for the residents to have other accomodation."