SMOKE bellowed from the wreck of an historic farmhouse today which has been gutted by fire.The complete building which is thought to date back to the 16th Century had completely caved in after the blaze went unnoticed for hours.

SMOKE bellowed from the wreck of an historic farmhouse today which has been gutted by fire.

The complete building which is thought to date back to the 16th Century had completely caved in after the blaze went unnoticed for hours.

Fire crews were called to the scene at Moat Farm in Otley at 5.40am today.

The scene was one of total devastation and firefighters said they would be there all day to make sure the charred remains had cooled down enough to prevent any further risk.

The blaze completely ruined the house measuring 10 metres by 20 metres, which had been extended twice over the years.

Staff from Suffolk Coastal District Council's building control department surveyed the site to assess how safe the remaining structure was.

Meanwhile tiles fell from what remained of the roof, chimneys leaned over at dangerous angles and scaffolding attempted to keep the remains upright.

Geoff Pyke, Suffolk Fire Service assistant divisional officer said: “It had been burning through the night but had gone unnoticed. The whole farm site is empty and work was about to begin to refurbish it.

“It has been an extremely severe fire and there is practically nothing left of the building which stood as a whole before the incident”.

An investigation will now to carried out to try and establish how the fire might have started but Mr Pyke said it was difficult to know where to start as the building had been so severely damaged.