Fire tears through riverside bungalow near Denver Sluice

An idyllic riverside bungalow in a West Norfolk village has been destroyed by a fire.

Emergency services were called to a fire in Ten Mile Bank, about half a mile from Denver Sluice near Downham Market, at around 9.20am this morning.

The usually quiet country road was filled with six fire engines - from Downham Market, King's Lynn, Wisbech, West Walton, March and Ely - as well as police, an ambulance crew and forensic services.

The bungalow, which sits along the bank of the Great River Ouse in the scenic Denver countryside, had been engulfed in flames.

But the location, also known locally as Sluice Bank, proved helpful to firefighters who had used water from the river in order to fill their pumps.

Under the glaring sun, firefighters wearing breathing apparatuses took nearly an hour to tackle the fire which tore through the roof of the bungalow.

Bob Ayres, station manager for King's Lynn, said one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion at the scene.

He said one elderly man, the owner of the building who had called the emergency services, had escaped with no injuries.

'It was a severe fire which burnt away the roof,' Mr Ayres added. 'It took an hour to bring the fire down.

'It was a fairly significant fire, there is severe damage to the property.'

An air ambulance was called to the scene as firefighters were concerned there may have been a missing person inside the building.

It landed on a nearby field but was called away after the missing person report was later confirmed as a false alarm.

The isolated bungalow is located in the rural countryside surrounded by acres of field and farmland, where properties along the narrow stretch of road are spread nearly half a mile apart.

Mr Ayres said fire crews were able to supplement water for the pumps from the river, which flows just a few metres away from the bungalow.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service will now begin an investigation to determine what may have caused the fire.