A major fire has completely gutted a listed building in Suffolk after strong winds fanned the flames into an inferno early yesterday morning.

At the peak of the fire’s ferocity, 33 firefighters and seven engines from across the region were on hand to tackle the blaze at Fen Road in Redgrave as large plumes of smoke billowed into the early-morning air.

Suffolk Constabulary were also called to control traffic in the area.

A force spokesman has since confirmed that an investigation will be held into the fire’s suspicious circumstances.

Two crews from Diss were the first on the scene shortly after 3am, with appliances from Eye, East Harling and Ixworth quickly called up to help. A water carrier from Newmarket was called to attend and crews also used water from a nearby river in their attempts to battle the flames.

Group commander Ken Williamson said: “At approximately 3am today we were called out to the premises.

“Our first responding crews initially came from a combination of Norfolk and Suffolk appliances.

“We were faced with a derelict property that had not been used for some years and had been boarded up and secured and it was well alight upon our first appliances’ arrival.

“The roof and the upper floor were all involved in the fire and our first responder crews were to extinguish that fire and knock that down as quickly as they could.

“We also had to secure a water supply for a local river source.”

By 11am, eight hours after the fire began, the last flames were finally extinguished although it was not until 1pm that the last firefighter left the site. The two-storey timber-framed Grade II listed building is located opposite Gressingham Foods’ production base in the village.