FOUR families had their homes wrecked yesterday as flames ripped through a terrace of Grade II listed thatched cottages.

They were left picking through their belongings on the grass outside after seventy-five fire fighters couldn’t stop the blaze spreading through the thatched roofs in Sutton Waldron, near Blandford.

Crews from Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Services, scrambled at 11.45am, used ladders, hose reel jets, main lines and foam to try to limit the damage to the properties, dating from the 1870s.

Mark and Claire Aartsen had recently celebrated paying off the mortgage on their ‘dream home’ in The Street after 15 years.

Mark said: “We were just having lunch and saw smoke coming across the window.

“Someone had already called the fire brigade when we went outside.

“As soon as we saw flames in the thatch we knew immediately we’d lost the house.”

The couple had spent the summer painting and refurbishing the property.

“It’s a bit sickening,” Claire said. “Our cat’s run off in fright too, so we’re hoping he’ll come back.”

A fire investigation officer is still trying to piece together how the fire started, and six crews were left to dampen down over night.

Area commander Keith Bacon said: “Once the roofs were all destroyed we did our best to save the remainder of the buildings.

“It will get dark and light again before we leave.

“There were people in the cottages when the alarm was raised, but they were in no danger and got out before the fire really took hold.”

The British Red Cross and the Salvation Army were on scene offering the victims help and advice and keeping them warm. Residents from all four cottages had found somewhere else to spend the night.

John Willmott from the Red Cross praised the ‘tremendous support’ offered by other villagers, who arranged a horse box to take salvaged keepsakes to the village hall.