EIGHT FIRE crews were called into action after a thatched cottage went up in flames in Great Horkesley.

Teams from the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service were called to reports of a fire in a home in School Lane in the early hours of this morning.

On arrival, firefighters confirmed around a quarter of the property's thatched roof, which measures around 25 metres by 15 metres, was alight.

Firefighters immediately began fighting the fire, which had spread both inside and outside the building, and divided the incident into sectors to allow them to control the blaze more quickly.

A large number of crews was needed to manually strip away the thatched roof and prevent the fire from spreading any further, while working with the home owner to save property from the building.

Around 90 per cent of the thatched material was removed from the roof by 6am.

The incident was under control and beginning to be scaled down, but will require a continued presence throughout most of Saturday.

Station Manager Craig McLellan said: "I'd like to thank our crews for their incredibly efficient response to this fire.

"This was a challenging incident in a very confined area, but they worked hard to bring this fire under control as quickly as possible.

"We were also grateful to have the support of the Salvation Army at the scene for refreshments and support for crews - which makes a genuine difference and isn't something we take for granted.

"I'd like to thank them for joining us on behalf of everyone who attended this incident.

"Crews will likely be at the scene for most of the day while we make sure the scene is completely safe.

"Thank you to everyone in the local area for your understanding."

An investigation to establish the cause will take place later today after the scene has fully cooled and all hotspots within the materials have been removed.