Hugh's River Cottage extensively damaged by fire

Hugh's River Cottage extensively damaged by fire
Hugh's River Cottage extensively damaged by fire (Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

A fire has badly damaged the cookery school kitchens at TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage headquarters in Devon. The fire took hold on Tuesday night and the alarm was raised at 10pm. Fire-fighters took several hours to get the fire under control and had to isolate tanks of highly combustible liquid propane. Fire Investigation Officer Mike Burroughs, of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, told BBC News there were some 'big safety issues for crews to deal with to deal with'. He said: "I think there were 10 ovens in there, and each oven had its own gas cylinder. River Cottage managing director Rob Love said staff were trying to contact Hugh, who is filming abroad. He said: "He's on a boat, but we're not exactly sure where he is so it might take some time to get through." River Cottage said its cookery school courses which are held in the converted barn would not be running in the short term. The Canteen restaurant and delicatessen, based in the centre of Axminster, hadn'tt been affected by the fire.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.