Holiday cottage blaze

A Christmas Day chimney fire destroyed a holiday cottage at an Uppermill Farm.

The two-storey stone annexe at Sherbrook Hall Farm, Higher Stile Lane, caught fire when a wood- burning stove flue ignited timbers in the roof.

The farm’s owner, 75-year-old Brian Powell, tried to put the blaze out himself but had to call emergency services around 7pm.

When crews from Oldham and Mossley arrived, they found the roof well alight, and were still there the next morning using a thermal imaging camera to make sure there were no hot spots deep inside.

The electricity was cut off by the blaze. United Utilities were called out to restore it on Boxing Day.

Mr Powell, who keeps horses on the farm he has owned for 30 years, said: “It’s a single bedroom annexe and I just keep it heated.

“It’s sometimes used as holiday accommodation, but it is gutted.

“I did get a hosepipe on it but it was well lit. The stack going through the roof caught the timbers.

“The good thing is there was no-one in it at the time. It’s going to have to be restored.”

Fire service spokesman Tony Lander said: “Fire crews stopped it spreading to the main building.

“It’s quite a big annexe and it was well alight with flames through the roof when the crews arrived.”