FIREFIGHTERS have been battling through this morning (Saturday, October 1) to tackle a huge fire on a caravan site.

Around 160 caravans have been destroyed or damaged and there is a scene of devastation at Highbridge Caravan Centre, Bristol Road, Highbridge.

Their task was made harder when several gas cylinders started to explode following the call to the incident at 1.38am.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

Initially one fire appliance was sent to the scene after reports of a fire "from the back of some trees opposite a pub".

Chard & Ilminster News:

Photo: David Whatley.

However, a further call from security staff at the caravan centre confirmed the fire involved a shed and fence on the site.

Two further engines and a water carrier from Bridgwater were sent out at 1.49am amid reports that the fire was getting larger and was near to some caravans.

Then four minutes later further fire engines from Bridgwater, Taunton and Cheddar, together with a command support unit from Street, were mobilised after the fire spread to several caravans that were close together.

At 2.05am firefighters at the scene reported that the blaze was rapidly spreading through the caravan site and involved many LPG cylinders, which had started to explode.

By this time Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service had received more than 60 999 calls about the fire, and a total of four more appliances were mobilised from Taunton, Winscombe and Bedminster - the last two called in from Avon Fire and Rescue Service.

Chard & Ilminster News:

​Photo: David Whatley.

Shortly afterwards two aerial appliances were sent from Weston-super-Mare (Avon FRS) and Yeovil.

A DSFRS spokesman said: "At 4.20am after the incident was sectorised, to enable crews to tackle the fire as effectively as possible, and a natural fire break created, after crews moved as many caravans as possible, confirmation was received that good progress was being made, the fire was surrounded and the main fire was now out.

"The incident will be scaled down shortly but this is going to be a protracted incident with crews currently at work with six main jets, damping down a large area of hotspots.

"Police, ambulance and utility companies are also in attendance. No persons were injured and the cause will be determined once the fire has been fully extinguished."

Laura Dawson, who lives in nearby Worston Road, said: "It was a huge fire.

"A police officer spotted it and attended and by 2am all four services were on site.

"There were lots of explosions, smoke and debris everywhere. Explosions woke us at 2am."