Firefighters tackling blaze at commercial garage

A family-run car garage in Hampshire has been destroyed by fire - along with up to 20 cars inside.

The fire on Main Road in Otterbourne broke out at 3:30 on Monday morning. The building contains a garage, workshops and offices - and it took around 50 firefighters three hours to get the blaze under control.

As Rachel Hepworth reports, crews had to work quickly to remove tanks of propane before they exploded.

One of the casualties of Monday's blaze at Williams garage was this "irreplaceable" classic 80's sports car.

Owner Stuart Day had only just taken his Ford Sierra RS500 to be re-sprayed at the specialist body shop in Otterbourne.

But the car, also known as a Cosworth, was one of around 20 vehicles destroyed in the fire.

Stuart was only made aware of the fire when he received messages on social media saying they hoped his car "wasn't this one" with the picture attached.

But he knew straight away from the distinctive shape and rarity of the car, that it was likely to be his.

He told ITV Meridian, " It's a very rare car, part of my collection that I've been building over many years. It's irreplaceable."

If he is lucky enough to find a replacement he won't get much change out of £100,000. Even the cheapest tend to go for £60,000 but they can be a lot more.

Rachel Hepworth has compiled pictures and interviews from today's fire at a garage in Otterbourne.

Up to 40 firefighters tackled the blaze at a garage in Otterbourne, Hampshire, this morning. More later.

Crews from Hampshire were called to a large fire at a commercial garage in Otterbourne at around 3:30am. Up to 40 firefighters tackled the blaze. More later.

Crews from Hampshire were called to a large fire at a commercial garage in Otterbourne at around 3:30am. Up to 40 firefighters are trying to stop the blaze.