A THATCHED roof fire has devastated a historic building in a rural village.

Fire crews were called to tackle a huge fire in the roof of a thatched cottage in Holt Lane, Holt, shortly before 6pm on Friday.

The road in the village near Wimborne was closed, and neighbouring residents were advised to keep their doors and windows shut while the incident was dealt with.

At its peak, there were 12 fire engines and around 60 firefighters working to extinguish the blaze and salvage belongings from the property.

Crews came to a stop shortly before 2am, with some firefighters remaining through to Saturday morning to monitor hotspots.

No one was injured, and it is believed the homeowners got out quickly.

Bournemouth Echo: Crews tackling the blaze on Friday nightCrews tackling the blaze on Friday night (Image: Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS))

Mel, a villager in Holt, watched the incident unfold.

She told the Daily Echo: “To start with it was just smoke coming out of the chimney, so I came out to see if anybody needed any help. Before we knew it there were just fierce orange flames at the windows.

"The firefighters were taking the roof off. There were about 12 fire engines along the road at one point.”

On Saturday morning, residents could be seen staring in disbelief at the cottage ruins.

The property, known as Post Cottage, is steeped in history, and has operated as both a pub and post office in the past.

One resident described it as ‘one of the prettiest houses in the village’ and said it always looked ‘immaculate’.

As the flames took hold on Friday evening, many of those living and working nearby did what they could to help.

Bournemouth Echo: Post Cottage was devastated by the firePost Cottage was devastated by the fire (Image: NQ)

Neighbours emptied their fridges to cook for firefighters, while the Holt village hall became a storage hub for saved furniture and possessions from Post Cottage.

The Old Inn, a pub approximately 250 metres up the road, helped to cook pizzas for the fire service. Staff had been alerted to the fire by customers shortly after 6pm.

Pub manager Angus Livesey said: “A couple of customers came in and said about there being a fire down the road. Then, there was just smoke coming all across the pub.

“I went down myself, and the landlord went down, to have a look while it was bellowing smoke out.

“It’s probably one of the worst fires I’ve seen in the village in about ten years.

“I imagine all the community will chip in now and help where they can."