Firefighters have spent the night tackling a large fire at an industrial estate in Broadhempston.

According to Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service Crews were called to the industrial units in the village at about 6.30pm on Monday evening.

A building was well-alight when the crews arrived and the fire spread to a number of workshops on the site.

Gerald Taylor, assistant chief fire officer, said the fire was ‘devastating’ for the small businesses involved.

About 30 firefighters were involved in helping to bring the fire under control, the fire service said.

Crews were still at the scene this morning (Tuesday) and an investigation is set to be launched to determine the cause.

Buckfastleigh Fire Station’s Facebook page reports: ‘We were setting off to take part in an exercise at the South Devon Railway and just as we were at the entrance we were diverted to a large building fire in the broadhempston area.

‘We attended with fire appliances from Ivybridge Fire Station, Totnes Fire Station, Paignton Fire Station and Torquay Fire Station also utilising the water bowser and the aerial ladder platform from Torquay.

‘On arrival we were faced with a well developed fire and the lack of a designated fire hydrant made for a challenging initial response.

‘A local stream was dammed to provide the depth to enable us to pump from the stream to feed into a fire appliance and the aerial ladder platform that was used to fight the fire from above.

The National Grid attended to confirm power was isolated to the buildings which were used as vehicle repair units.

‘The occupiers were on hand to provide information to the oic to enable him to assess and deal with the hazards posed within.

‘We hope that these small businesses are able to recover quickly from this event and thank them for their help throughout the incident.’