Moment £1.5m mansion is destroyed by huge fire after 'solar panels cause it to erupt into flames'
A £1.5m mansion has been destroyed by a huge fire thought to have been started by newly installed solar panels.
The huge blaze erupted at a house in Ferndown, Dorset, after a neighbour noticed the inferno at around 12.30pm yesterday, sparking a massive response from fire crews.
Firefighters from six different stations raced to the property on the exclusive Golf Links Road where they desperately tried to extinguish the fire and stop it spreading to neighbouring houses.
They were able to eventually douse the blaze, but not before it had completely destroyed the entire first floor and the roof of the mansion.
Footage of the incident shows bright orange flames leaping 20ft into the air as they tore through the large detached home, which backs onto the exclusive Ferndown Golf Club in Dorset.
The £2,300 a year club is a favourite of legendary golf commentator Peter Alliss who worked there as an assistant to his father Percy when he was a teenager.
The owners, who were uninjured, are believed to have only purchased the house in January and were in the process of renovating it when the blaze broke out.
The couple had installed solar panels on the roof around a month ago, according to neighbours, and are believed to be the cause of the fire.
Stuart Gillion, group manager at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service, said: 'We were alerted to a significant and well developed fire.
'The two occupants were inside and they were alerted by a fire alarm so they were able to get out.
'The entire first floor of the property and the roof have been destroyed, but an early intervention stopped the fire spreading to neighbouring properties.
'It is absolutely heartbreaking for the owners to see the property they had developed and had become their home in this state, but the most important thing is they were unharmed.'
A spokesperson for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service said they suspect the cause of the fire that destroyed the £1.5m mansion was from the new solar panels on the roof.
They said: 'The reinspection has been completed. We believe the fire started accidentally and suspect the fire started from solar panels.'
It is believed that the occupants at the home are an Eastern European couple aged in their 30s.
Nextdoor neighbour Pete Webb, 75, a retired special needs specialist, said: 'My wife gardening and I suddenly noticed this burning smell and said "what on earth is that".
'I looked up and saw 20ft high flames shooting from the back of the house and called 999.
'They were tackling the fire from our driveway and there were exploding bangs like an air raid - it was terrifying.
'Thankfully they managed to stop it spreading to our house.
'The owners have been constantly doing work to the roof and the fire investigators asked me about their solar panels.'
Another neighbour said: 'The fire started on the roof and sadly most of the house has gone.
'I spoke to the family earlier and they are doing okay and they were really calm. They only moved into the house in January.
'I think the owners spent a lot of money renovating it and they put solar panels on the roof a month ago.
'It is such a shame to see what has happened but the fire crews did really well to stop it spreading to other properties.'
Fire crews from Redhill Park, Springbourne, Poole, Wimborne, Ringwood and Hamworthy were sent to the scene.
Nearby residents were told to close their windows as a large plume of black smoke blew across the area.
The golf course remained open and it is not believed that the house affected belongs to one of their members.
The legendary golf commentator Peter Alliss worked as an assistant to his father Percy at Ferndown Golf Club when he was a teenager.
During his broadcasting career he often described Ferndown as being his favourite course. After his death in 2020, the club renamed their nine hole course in his honour.
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