Man missing after fire destroys house

The fire destroyed the home at Cramer Gutter Lane in Oreton, 11 miles from Bewdley.

Specialist search and rescue teams have been looking for the occupant of the house, whom emergency services say remains unaccounted for.

This morning the road near the property was closed.

Police said the cause of the blaze was unknown but it is not being treated as suspicious currently.

The alarm was raised at 11.30pm on Monday, with fire crews from Cleobury Mortimer and Ludlow quickly on the scene.

They were met with a large blaze and sections of the building in danger of collapse.

Scott Hurford, incident commander from Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We we’re called at 11.30pm last night to a report of a two-storey farm house on fire and that there was potentially someone in the building.

“On arrival we found a severe fire consuming the whole building. There is believed to be one person missing and the search is still ongoing. We can’t yet rule out that the man is not in the house.

“The building is structurally unsafe at the moment so we have a team making it safe so officers can go in and search it.”

The man’s next of kin has been notified.

Inspector Jack Wright of Wyre Forest Safer Neighbourhood Team said today: "A multi-agency presence is currently in place at the scene, which has been cordoned off due to concerns for the safety of the building.

"We are concerned for the welfare of the property and are working with our emergency service colleagues to conduct searches of the area at this time."

It took more than five hours to bring the fire under control.

A spokesman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews worked tirelessly throughout the night to bring the fire under control and are expected to remain on scene damping down hot spots throughout the day."

"The fire service was joined by specialist Urban Search and Rescue teams that helped search for the missing man.

"The cause of the fire is at this stage unknown and being investigated by police and fire Investigators."

Jamie Arrowsmith, spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: "At 11.35pm last night we were called to reports of a property fire.

"One ambulance and a paramedic officer attended.

"We were stood down at 1.49am with no patient found so we didn't treat anyone."