UP to 70 firefighters fought a blaze which devastated two semidetached thatched cottages in North Bovey on Monday night.

Fourteen crews spent ten hours tackling the fire which completely destroyed the roof of Grade II listed Clifton Cottage and that of an adjoining holiday cottage.

The tenant of Clifton Cottage and a younger man, believed to be his nephew, escaped unhurt with two Alsatian dogs. The holiday cottage was empty at the time.

Fire area commander Steve Widnell, said: 'It was a severe fire which was really challenging.'

Firemen salvaged most of the belongings from the ground floor of the property, undamaged but they were unable to stop the flames from gutting the two properties.

'We tried to create a fire break of one metre but the fire was so well-developed that during the process we had to pull all of our people off the roof and outside the building because it was too dangerous for them to work.

'Thatch fires are difficult to deal with and unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we weren't able to save the roof,' he said.

Ten fire appliances were mobilised and a compressed air foam appliance was called in from Exmouth, an incident command vehicle from Totnes, an aerial ladder platform and water foam carrier from Torquay and a hose layer from Tavistock.

Western Power were mobilised in case the fire spread to nearby overhead cables. Police and paramedics were also on standby.

The cause is being investigated although preliminary findings suggest that a faulty flue may have been to blame.

Dai Jenkin, a resident of 19 years, was one of the first at the scene at 10.15pm.

'Flames were licking the ridge and we thought it would be a very simple five or ten minute job.

'Suddenly a gap in the roof appeared and a small fire ball came out and spread right through the roof space into the holiday cottage.

'Within half-an-hour we were watching red windows and red skies above it and flames licking out of the roof. It was very dramatic.

'We were so fortunate that the wind was in the one direction that would not affect other properties in the village.'

Another resident, Alex Austin, 37, said: 'There was a lot of very acrid smoke. Water was running down the hill, a river of black and the smell was awful. Just as we left you could see a bright glowing from underneath the roof but it was still quite a while before it went up completely. I was told it went with a real whoosh, it was gone in seconds.

'When something like that happens all the village pitches in. I think they got lots of offers of beds for the night and people were making tea and bacon sandwiches.

'It is always shocking but also really nice to feel the community spirit and to know you are looked after when it is needed.'

By 2.30am the incident was scaled back to two fire engines and three hours later only one pump from Teignmouth remained damping down. Fire crews maintained a watching brief throughout the night.

On Tuesday morning kind-hearted neighbours moved items of furniture out of harm's way.

The village centre was closed to traffic while building surveyors inspected the site for safety.

Andrew Carpenter, assistant head of building control at Devon Building Control Partnership, said the road past the property would remain closed to traffic but would reopen to pedestrians once the unstable gable end and chimney had been shored up.