THE cause of a fire which destroyed a New Forest family’s home may remain a mystery.

The blaze wrecked the house at Woodgreen, near Fordingbridge, on December 2.

The family returned from a trip out to find their home in flames.

The house was destroyed in the blaze, which is not believed to be suspicious.

Eight fire crews from three counties, Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, spent hours fighting the flames after the emergency services were called at around 6.30pm.

Chairman of Woodgreen Parish Council Stewart Hall said: “The man is a businessman in Salisbury and the family has lived in the village for almost 20 years.

“They have lost absolutely everything.”

A spokesman for Hampshire and Rescue, which has been trying to find out how it started, said: “The house is such a charred mess it’s impossible to tell what started the fire. Everything is so badly burned there’s nothing to investigate.

“Unless the crumbling walls are shored up with scaffolding, it’s too dangerous to continue the investigation.

“Further investigation would prove very expensive and insurers rarely pay for that, so the blaze remains a tragic accident.”