THE fire that devastated a church in Mudeford is believed to have started accidently.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service suspect thursday night’s fire at the All Saints Church had started accidentally, with investigations set to continue.

They tweeted: “We believe that the devastating church fire in Mudeford started accidentally, although the exact cause remains under investigation.

“We are offering our support to the community and will be out & about tonight and over the weekend to provide reassurance.”

As reported, emergency services attended the fire at the historic church shortly after 8pm on Thursday evening.

Police closed the road and manned a cordon, whilst more than 50 firefighters battled the blaze using water pumped from Mudeford Quay.

Bournemouth Echo: The fire services returned to the scene on Friday morning to start their investigations.The fire services returned to the scene on Friday morning to start their investigations.

The church, which was originally built in 1869, has suffered huge damage.

Fire services returned to the building on Friday morning to carry out investigations, at which point the extent of devastation was clear.

Speaking from the scene, station manager Shaun Milton said: “We’ve got extensive damage throughout the property, both in the main church hall that is at the back of the building and then also the main church area as well.”

“We’re doing fire investigations this morning to work out what has caused it. We’ll be here for quite a few hours.”