'Major response' by fire service to roof blaze

A "large-scale response" has been launched by fire crews tackling a blaze in the roof of a property in a historic part of Lincolnshire.

Ten fire engines were called to St Mary's Lane, Louth, just after 10:00 BST on Thursday.

Helen Tooley, divisional commander at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said the call had been made by the house's owners after they had got out. There were no injuries.

A cause was not immediately determined, but Ms Tooley said "someone in the bathroom thought they could smell smoke and went to check the loft space".

During the firefighting operation, she added: "It's quite a large roof space. We have stopped it spreading to certain areas but there is still a lot of work to do."

The incident was under control by 14:50 BST, but several fire engines – including two aerial ladder platforms – remained at the scene, and the road was still closed.

Peter Church saw the fire that broke out in Louth on Thursday

Peter Church, who lives on St Mary's Lane, said he had heard "fairly early on from a neighbour that there was a fire".

He added: "[Smoke] was coming through the roof, as were the flames, so we knew it was pretty serious."

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