Police evacuated houses after a fire engulfed a barn used to store gas bottles and petrol.

Part of the barn, based in Hilltop Farm in Upper Houses, Bulmer, was razed to the ground after the blaze took hold at 11.50am last Saturday.

Farmer Adam Letham, who owns the barn, said all his belongings inside, including his camper van and lawn mowers, were all destroyed.

He said: “I am absolutely gutted, I have lost everything that was in there.

“I used the camper van every now and again on weekends - it had my wife’s Chanel perfume in but now that’s all gone.

“I wasn’t here at the time. My daughter phoned me so I came straight back and the barn was all up in flames."

See this week's Halstead Gazette for the full story.