Firefighters brave the flames as village cottages blaze (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Firefighters brave the flames as village cottages blaze

FIRE crews feared the worst as a blaze gutted two picturesque cottages in a Cotswold village.

Firefighters battled their way into the houses on Foxes Row in Broadwell because they thought there may be people in them.

After gaining entry to the two burning properties in the early hours of last Thursday they discovered that both were unoccupied.

It is still not known what caused the fire, which is believed to have started in the kitchen.

Pete Muckle of Stow fire station said his crew arrived at the scene shortly before 3.30am. "There was a car parked outside so we thought there was somebody in there. We were trying to douse the flames enough to get in. When we succeeded we found that there was nobody there.

"We were also concerned about an 80-year-old woman next door as the place was heavily smoke-logged." It was later discovered that the house had been empty.

He added that the fire destroyed 50 per cent of one cottage and about one-fifth of the roof of the property next door.

Two appliances from Stow and one from Moreton, along with a damage control vehicle from Stroud, spent about three hours fighting the blaze. One appliance remained at the site, opposite the Fox Inn, until after 9am.