A popular Wiltshire pub that caught fire on Thursday has been left scorched from the blaze.

Firefighters battled for almost two hours to save The Churchill pub on Swindon Road in Royal Wootton Bassett, after a fire which broke out in the cellar spread to the roof.

Three fire crews from Royal Wootton Bassett, Westlea and Stratton as well as an aerial ladder platform from Swindon rushed to the scene after receiving a call at 8.10pm.

The damage was extensive as a large section of an adjacent outbuilding’s roof could be seen blackened with ash the morning after the blaze.

A gaping hole in the roof could also be spotted where the fire burned through, and one of the pub’s large red dumpster bins was affected too.

The waste disposal unit’s black plastic lid had been mangled by the heat of the flames.

The blaze was battled by six breathing apparatus wearers who used two hose reel jets to extinguish the fire and it was extinguished at 9.56pm.

A spokesperson from Westlea Fire Station said: “Group two backed up Royal Wootton Bassett Fire Station at a fire involving a pub cellar.

“Quick action from the first arriving crew prevented a more serious incident.”