HEARTFELT thanks have gone to the firefighters who fought desperately to save a picturesque thatched cottage from fire on Sunday evening — and the villagers of Calbourne for rallying round.

Owner Abbey Brown told the County Press it had been devastating to lose their beautiful home, Merlin's Cottage.

She said: "We are so grateful to all the firefighters who were absolutely incredible and worked throughout the night fighting the fire.

"The local people have been wonderful with all kinds of offers of help and somewhere to stay including Kate and Dave from the local pub, The Sun Inn.

"And Annie, our neighbour from across the road, who was getting ready for her night shift at the hospital, who alerted us and called the fire brigade.

"We are at present staying with lovely friends locally. We can't thank everybody enough for their kind words and offers of help and a special thank you to all the fire crew."

Isle of Wight County Press: Scene of the fire at Calbourne, where a firefighter is on the roof in an attempt to control the blaze.

Merlin's Cottage, on Elm Lane, was the object of desire when it was a prize in a national newspaper competition to win a dream home in the country, several years ago.

In 2006, it was reproduced to three-quarter scale for Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

Firefighters fought through the night on Sunday, to Monday morning, to control the blaze and prevent further spread.

After flames and smoke were first spotted, more than 50 firefighters were called out, including those from Newport, Freshwater, Cowes, East Cowes, Ryde and Shanklin. 
They were joined by Hampshire-based firefighters from St Mary’s, Fareham, Southsea, Hightown, Cosham, Havant, Eastleigh and Portchester at the incident in Elm Lane.