A NEW Forest pensioner is counting the cost of a mystery blaze which ripped through his property.

A shed and a van were destroyed in the late-night fire, which broke out in a hamlet near the B3054 Lymington to Beaulieu road.

The blaze was tackled by crews from two fire stations in Southampton – Redbridge and St Mary’s.

They were called out at 10pm last Sunday after 400 square metre shed on Bull Hill, near Pilley, was engulfed in flames.

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) spokesman said the shed was “100 per cent destroyed”.

The owner Derek Moore, 83, said: “They said not to go up there and have a look because it was just one big red mess. I didn’t think it was going to be devastation.”

A HFRS spokesman added: “The arson task force has been informed but haven’t been mobilised to investigate.”