THIRTY firefighters tackled a large shed blaze at the site of the former Prickly Ball Farm Hedgehog Hospital outside Newton Abbot.

A fleet of pumps raced to the scene on the Denbury Road at Ogwell after the alarm was raised just before 2pm on Wednesday.

Four pumps together with support teams were in attendance at the scene where a fire spokesman confirmed a large agricultural shed was well alight on arrival.

It’s thought a nearby bonfire for burning rubbish at the site spread to the shed which was used as a garden tool store and workshop.

Firefighters managed to stop the flames spreading to a neighbouring company’s unit.

The workshop was destroyed in the blaze which involved crews making sure butane and propane gas cylinders within were kept cool and did not explode.

A spokesman confirmed the fire had started accidentally from a bonfire near the premises.

The incident was reckoned to be under control within two hours.

Two crews from Newton Abbot dealt with the emergency together with a crew from Torquay and one from Ashburton which manned the Bovey Tracey-based command support unit.

A welfare pod from Ivybridge was also despatched to the fire.

Two sets of breathing gear were worn with two attack jets, a compressed air foam jet and two hosereel jets used to extinguish the flames.

Multiple 999 calls were received by the brigade with smoke seen for miles around from the source of the inferno.

The location had been the scene of hedge-trimming work over the last few days.