A HOUSE in an Essex village has been left ruined by fire after more than 30 firefighters took several hours to tackle the blaze.The owner of the house in Shalford, near Braintree, returned home at just after 8pm on Friday to find it engulfed in flames.

A HOUSE in an Essex village has been left ruined by fire after more than 30 firefighters took several hours to tackle the blaze.

The owner of the house in Shalford, near Braintree, returned home at just after 8pm on Friday to find it engulfed in flames.

Eight crews from six different stations dealt with the fire, which was finally extinguished by 11.30pm, although the house remained structurally unstable and the electricity board were called to isolate the power supply.

Crews from Dunmow, Sible Hedingham, Braintree, Harlow, Haverhill and a command support unit from Brentwood were involved in the operation, and firefighters returned to the scene the next day to check for pockets of fire or heat.

Divisional Officer Mark Samuels said: “This is yet another tragic loss of someone's home especially so close to Christmas, you can see that this was a lovely house and it is a real shame that it has been destroyed by fire.

“This is the third home to be destroyed by fire in as many days, we do not know the cause of tonight's fire but we do know that the previous two were as a result of electrical faults. We would like to take this opportunity to remind the public to check their smoke alarms.”

He said he believed the fire had started in the Kitchen, and early indications suggested it was caused by an electrical fault.