Fire in thatched house spreads to four homes

A blaze in a thatched house spread to four properties, the fire service said.

Firefighters were called to Cranford Road, Grafton Underwood, near Kettering, at 14:50 GMT on Sunday.

The occupant of the thatched house posted: "There's not a lot of hope for our property as the thatched roof has already burned through. Nobody's hurt and that's all that matters."

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said the flames "quickly spread to four properties". An investigation to find out how the fire started began on Monday.

Ned Faux, whose house roof went up in flames, praised the fire service and local residents, and said he was "devastated to lose everything we've worked so hard for".

He added: "We are truly grateful that nobody has been hurt and my heart goes out to my neighbours and anyone else who has been affected."

A social media post from another resident thanked neighbours who had "opened their houses and also offered us a bed for the night yesterday".

They added: "We were the lucky ones yesterday and our heart is broken for our friends who have not been as fortunate as us."

The fire was put out shortly before 23:00 GMT.

National Grid isolated power to the houses involved. Fifty firefighters went to the scene during the incident. Some stayed overnight to dampen down remaining hotspots.

The fire service thanked residents who had helped "look after the welfare of our crews at the scene".

Crews from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service also attended.

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