A FIRE has torn through a converted barn which contained an art studio and florist workshop.

The blaze, which happened in the early hours of Friday morning, has gutted the building at Oakley Wood, near Wallingford. 

Fire crews on the scene worked quickly to stop the fire spreading to neighbouring buildings.  

Crews using breathing equipment and firefighting hoses worked throughout the night to contain the fire.

Investigation teams were still at the scene on Friday afternoon, looking into the cause of the fire.

Incident Commander Station Manager Paul Webster said “On arrival we were faced with a challenging incident, we needed to protect the neighbour’s property and fight a fire within a converted barn.

"The owner of the building soon arrived on scene and were able to give the crews good information about the contents and layout of the building, this helped us to understand what we were facing and where to focus our initial firefighting actions, the cause of the fire is under investigation”.

Six fire engines, from Wallingford, Didcot, Goring, Wheatley and two from Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the incident, along with a specialist water carrier from Wheatley.