A neighbour was unable to prevent a house fire from spreading after a barn was engulfed in flames causing it to partly collapse on Monday morning.

Firefighters spent almost five hours attending the inferno in Pudding Lane, Chigwell, after being forced to fight the fire from outside after half of the converted barn crashed to the ground.

About 30 firefighters were called out to the home after the fire started just before 5.25am.

A Woodford Green firefighter said: “We were one of the first crews who attended the fire and the remote barn was already engulfed by flames. It took about an hour to get the fire under control.

“The timber building caught alight very quickly and the flames were big enough to catch an outbuilding about 10ft away. A neighbour tried to put the fire out, but the porch nearly fell on him.”

The 20x8m building was 50 per cent alight initially, before fire took hold of the entire building.

Everyone inside the house was accounted for and one woman was treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation.

An investigation will now be carried out to establish the cause of the fire.

Did you see what happened? Please call 0208 477 3800 or email newsdesk@ilfordrecorder.co.uk.