A CHRISTMAS night fire that destroyed a barn at a South Hams farm was started accidentally, investigators have confirmed.

Firefighters spend more than 16 hours at Riverside Farm, near Kingsbridge, after a blaze erupted in the early hours of Boxing Day.

Crews from across South Devon spent the whole night battling flames after being called at 12.07am to reports of a commercial building on fire at the farm, which sits just on the outskirts of Loddiswell.

Fire crews from Kingsbridge, Modbury and Salcombe were all sent to the scene, where they found a two-storey barn well alight.

A number of people and animals had been enjoying Christmas Day at the farm until the fire began, but everybody escaped without injury.

Riverside, which has also been operated as a fish farm, is situated just South of Loddiswell on New Mill Lane, just off the B3196, which links Ugborough and Kingsbridge.

A spokeswoman for the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the Kingsbridge crew were first on the scene.

The team was forced to request two additional fire engines after realising the extent of the blaze.

The service's Totnes-based incident command vehicle was then also sent to the scene, along with crews from the town and Ivybridge.

Firefighters managed to force their way into the 15m x 10m building, which was being used as a storage barn, using two breathing apparatus, a hosereel and a covering jet to tackle the flames.

At 12.27am part of the roof collapsed, the spokeswoman said, and fire crews began using a second hosereel.

The team used the nearby river – around a quarter of a mile from the blaze – as their water supply, managing to put two main jets and two breathing apparatus sets to use by 1.13am.

They spent the rest of the night making sure the fire was under control before contacting South Hams District Council with structural concerns.

A building control officer from the council went to the scene on Boxing Day morning to inspect the safety of the burnt-out barn.

Crews were still using water to dampen down the area at 11am, meaning investigators had trouble getting onto the scene.

The last appliance finally left at 4.05pm, allowing fire investigators a closer look.

They have confirmed the blaze is being treated as an accident, although it is unclear as yet what triggered the fire.

The family who live at Riverside Farm have been too shocked and upset to speak about the incident, but they confirmed that all people and animals did get out of the building before the flames took hold.