Firefighters are continuing to battle a house fire at a large detached property in Tolleshunt Knights.

Crews from Maldon, Tiptree, Chelmsford ,Colchester, Mersea and Witham were called to tackle the blaze at around 1.25pm today (Sunday, 18 April).

On arrival firefighters reported that both the ground and first floor were completely alight.

Incident Commander Dan Kirk said:

"The roof has collapsed and the house has been completely destroyed, but thankfully everyone is safe with no injuries.

"We have divided the incident into sections and are continuing to work to bring it under control."

An update at around 5pm confirmed that the incident has now been scaled back to three fire engines plus the aerial ladder platform and high volume pump.

Firefighters have established a good water supply from a nearby large pond and are using a high volume pump to move the water from the pond to the incident site.

A fire service spokesperson said: "Although the main fire has been extinguished it has got into insulation and wall cavities of the house so crews expect to stay at the incident for some time as they continue to dampen down and turn over. "