FIREFIGHTERS from across the county called out to tackle a huge blaze at a South Hams industrial estate in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

An alert went out around 2.30am that a fire had broken out at South Hams Business Park, Churchstow, near Kingsbridge.

First on the scene were firefighters from Kingsbridge, closely followed by crews from Modbury and Salcombe fire stations.

With the blaze, which had began in one business unit, spreading to neighbouring units, a water bowser from Pympton and an aerial platform from Torquay were summoned, along with further fire appliances from Dartmouth, Totnes, Plymstock, Ivybridge, Plymouth Greenbank, Paignton, Buck­fastleigh and compressed foam from Cullompton.

Andy Rowse, the fire service incident commander, told the BBC: 'At the height of the fire we had 10 appliances and a total of 80 firefighters. This has been a significant incident and a challenging fire for us to bring under control.'

Crews had to use hydraulic cutting gear, normally used to free people from road accidents, to slice through metal shutters and get into some of the units as the fire spread.

Among those businesses affected by the fire were those in unit six, which include City Electrical Factors, Barton Solutions Electrical, The Old Bag Comp­any and the Wolf Rock Boat Company.

The Old Bag Company, which was founded by Sally Hurst, put the following message on its website: 'In the early hours of this morning a fire broke out on our business park. We have had some smoke damage, so you will be unable to order for a short while. Sorry for any inconvenience, Sally.'

The Wolf Rock Boat Comp­any, owned by Paul McCarthy, posted on its Facebook page: 'A massive thank you to the 80 firefighters that controlled the blaze at the South Hams Business Park early this morning. No one was hurt in the fire. Our office is open as usual but our workshop is closed until further notice.'

Josh Harvey, of Barton Solutions Electrical, told the BBC the fire had been 'devastating' and that some of the company's equipment had melted in the heat.

He said: 'The worst thing is the interruption. It's the knock-on effects to customers and other tradesmen around the area. Luckily no one was hurt.'

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue service reported at 4.30am that units 6B, 6C, 6D, 6F, 6G and 6H had been severely damaged by fire, and units 6A, 6E and 6I damaged by smoke and water. Only unit 6J?seemed to have escaped damage.

Quercus Brewery, in an adjacent building, was one of the businesses that escaped the fire.

Brewer and site manager Graham Phillips said: 'We were very lucky.

'We were delayed getting in but we are able to manufacture and deliver as normal.

'Some of our neighbours have been devastated and our hearts go out to them, we were just very lucky. We're all in the dark at the moment as to the cause.'

As smoke billowed from the building, police closed the main A381 road, which runs alongside the business park, at Sorley Cross and at the other side of Churchstow, at Redford Cross. Morning commuters faced diversions around the area and there were long tailbacks in the West Alvington area until the road reopened when the fire was out at around 10am.

Fire investigation officers were at the scene on Wednes­day. The cause of the blaze had not been established by the time we went to press but it was not thought to be arson.

A spokesman for South Hams Council said on Wednesday afternoon: 'This industrial estate is privately owned, but during the recovery phase we have been asked to take over control temporarily.

'Our building control officer, Steve Sheppard of Devon Building Control Partnership, has been on site from 7.45am assessing the five units some of which were subdivided to provide accommodation for smaller businesses.

'Steve will be assessing what damage has been done and whether the structural integrity of the buildings has been compromised. He has discovered bowed walls and several with immediate fire damage – others suffered smoke damage.

'Our environmental health officer, James Kershaw, is on site and will formally take control over the recovery process and is asking any businesses who have been affected to contact the council on 01803 861234.'

He added: 'We have a duty to businesses to try to help with their recovery from this.'

Fire crew commander Wayne Perry, from Plymstock fire station, said: 'It is essential that local people know that this [tackling the blaze] was mostly the work of local retained fire officers. They are essential and employers are the key.

'The local people here helped to save local businesses from further damage and we need more employers to be willing to allow their employees to work as retained firefighters. They are protecting their own.'