A SUFFOLK woman who watched in horror as part of her farm burnt down, said today she was thankful no-one was hurt in the blaze.Christine Denny, who owns Brewery Farm in Little Stonham with her husband Henry, was alerted that one of the barns was alight at around 11.

A SUFFOLK woman who watched in horror as part of her farm burnt down, said today she was thankful no-one was hurt in the blaze.

Christine Denny, who owns Brewery Farm in Little Stonham with her husband Henry, was alerted that one of the barns was alight at around 11.20pm on Sunday.

A driver who was travelling along the A140 noticed the flames and called the fire service before a friend of Mr and Mrs Denny woke them to reveal the bad news.

Mrs Denny said: "The fire service came very quickly after the call was made, although it seemed like a lifetime.

"While we were watching the blaze there were several explosions, which was very frightening.

"At the moment, we're not sure how it started. The extreme heat of the day could have been the cause as there was a lot of hey in one of the barns, but it's not clear.

"You just don't expect something like this to happen to you."

Two fire crews managed to extinguish the flames at around 2am, although an engine remained on site through the night and well into yesterday, damping down the area.

Crews also removed a number of gas cylinders from the burning barns.

Mrs Denny said: "One barn is totally demolished and the fire also took part of another barn.

"I'm just relieved no one was hurt."

A spokesman for the fire service said there was nothing to suggest the fire was started suspiciously.

Meanwhile, seven fire crews yesterday fought a blaze at the Grade II listed former Melton Grange Hotel on the outskirts of Woodbridge.

The fire at the now derelict hotel, which is earmarked for redevelopment in to luxury apartments and homes, broke out at about 3.40pm.

It took firefighters two hours to bring under control with fire crews called to tackle the blaze from Woodbridge, Ipswich, Orford and Bury St Edmunds as fire ripped through the upper floor and roof of one of the hotel's wings.

The Melton Grange Hotel site has been empty for several years and suffered from vandalism attacks and youths using the area for smoking and drinking as it fell in to a poor state of repair.

The site has planning permission to convert the land into luxury new homes, with the historic heart of the hotel earmarked for apartments, with houses built in the grounds.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said the fire broke out in one wing of the derelict hotel, with the upper floor and roof well alight.

A spokesman for Suffolk Constabulary said they were called to the site to redirect traffic, but was unable to shed any light on the cause of the fire.