Holidaymaker 'gutted' after campervan caught fire on Dartmoor

Credit: ITV

A holidaymaker says he has been left "gutted" after a fire which started in his campervan spread across Dartmoor.

Plumes of smoke could be seen for miles around as firefighters tackled the fire near Huccaby Tor on Dartmoor on Monday 31 May.

The fire took crews 18 hours to tame, with high winds helping flames spread quickly.

Campervan owner Glen Branston told ITV News West Country he was shocked at how quickly things developed.


  • Watch Glen speak about moment fire broke out


He said: "The kids in the back said 'there's smoke coming out the back of the van' so I jumped out, we all jumped out, and there was a bit of smoke coming out of the vents at the top.

"I got my extinguisher, and then the bottom started going and then the whole thing went up in seconds.

"While we were watching it burn away, flames shot across the road onto the gorse the other side of the road and that just spread forever.

"You feel like crying don't you, just gutted.

"Hopefully all the horses have gone away because there were loads of horses in the field."

The family's campervan was completely destroyed in the blaze.

The campervan was completely destroyed Credit: ITV News

Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said it received more than 30 calls about the blaze, which was finally tamed at around 8am on Tuesday 1 June.

A spokesperson for the service said one square kilometre of gorseland was "95 per cent" destroyed in the fire.


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