FIRE investigators were this week trying to establish the cause of a £1 million blaze which gutted a Cotswold stone manor house overlooking the Vale of Evesham.

More than 50 firefighters from Worcestershire and Gloucestershire tackled the huge fire which destroyed 80 per cent of the house which was unoccupied at the time.

Six pumps from Evesham, Broadway, Shipston, Chipping Campden and Moreton and two water carriers were called to the scene at The Old Rectory in Saintbury Hill.

The house is believed to be owned by multi-millionaire financier Harvey McGrath, chairman of the Booker Prize sponsors the Man Group plc, and his wife, Angela.

The owners flew up from London yesterday to survey the damage and were met by police and fire investigation officers.

Sub-officer John Wood from Evesham fire station said the crew could see the glow from the flames as they drove through Wickhamford between 11pm and midnight on Tuesday.

"When we got there a third of the house was well alight," he said. "The entire roof at the back of the house was burning through and it had reached the roof at the front as well."

Fire brigade station manager Clive Alder, who was in charge of the incident, said it had taken firefighters an hour and a half to bring the blaze under control and a further hour to put it out.

Fire crews remained on site all day yesterday, damping down hotspots, as the investigation team began the job of locating the seat of the fire and determining the cause.

Leading firefighter Alistair Wheatcroft from Chipping Campden said the alarm was raised by a security guard from local firm Phoenix Security.

"When we arrived the ground floor was well alight. It was very, very hot and the flames were leaping 10ft to 15ft in the air. Anyone in the Vale looking out of their window would probably have been able to see it.

"The building was so badly damaged we couldn't go in."

Firefighters did manage to get into the house but were forced to leave and had to tackle the blaze from outside.

"The stairwell was completely ablaze. The crew couldn't get upstairs at all," added Mr Wheatcroft.

As the Journal went to press, it was understood neither the police nor fire investigation team believed the cause of the fire was suspicious.