A blaze which tore through a detached house has been extinguished, the fire service confirmed tonight.

A FIRE which tore through a detached house has been extinguished, the fire service said tonight.

The blaze broke out in a downstairs room at the Old Rectory in Church Road, Great Cornard, near Sudbury, shortly before 8.30pm tonight.

Two fire engines from Sudbury initially attended the scene but immediately requested backup and another four appliances from Long Melford, Nayland and Bury St Edmunds were sent.

The ground floor of the detached, two-storey property, which measures 15m by 8m, was well alight on arrival but crews reported that the fire had spread to the second floor of the building shortly before 9pm.

Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to fight the blaze from inside the property.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the fire on the ground floor and first floor of the property was extinguished at 9.20pm and crews were now dampening the property down.

Access has been made to the loft area to check whether the fire has spread, she added.

The operational support unit from Haverhill has been called to the scene to recharge breathing apparatus.

It is not known whether the owner of the house was inside the premises at the time of the blaze.

For the full story, see tomorrow's newspaper.