FIREFIGHTERS rushed to a New Forest village on Tuesday to battle a blaze at a community hall. 

Just after 11pm on Tuesday, crews from seven stations rushed to Strawberry Field in East Boldre where a fire had started in a wooden structure. 

The building, which the fire service described as a community hall, included three propane cylinders and was "well alight" by the time firefighters arrived.

Eight pumps were needed to battle the blaze along with four jets, hose reels, breathing apparatus and an aerial ladder platform. 

Crews from Beaulieu, Lymington, Hardley, Brockenhurst, Hythe, New Milton and Lyndhurst all attended the fire which had engulfed the whole wooden structure.

The cylinders were removed from the building and support vehicles from St Mary's, Romsey, Eastleigh and Ringwood also attended.

The fire was put out and crews continued to dampen the site down until they stood down at 3.13am.

Firefighters from Hightown and Redbridge also assisted with the incident, taking over from crews that were first on the scene.

The building was said to be "destroyed" in the fire with one crew returning to the scene yesterday morning to conduct a reinspection and check for remaining hotspots.

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews from across the New Forest and beyond were called to a wooden building well alight in East Boldre at 23:07 last night.

"The building was destroyed in the fire that was extinguished using hose reels, jets, breathing apparatus and the aerial ladder platform after cylinders had been removed from the blaze."

"100% of the community hall’s wooden construction was involved in the fire."